literallygriffin's reviews
3 reviews

The Electric Heir by Victoria Lee

dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

a very good development on the fever king. the prose is much stronger, the setting is considered more, and the characters feel so realistic. the biggest issue i have with it is the same issue i had with the fever king, which is just that the main character, noam, is a different type of communist than me and that makes me upset. as a result the book is very idealist (in the marxist sense) but the degree to which thats the fault of just typical genre trappings is debatable
also it reminded me to read nabokov. thank you victoria lee

The Fever King by Victoria Lee

emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

so much fucking happened in this book but i liked it. im saving any analysis for after i finish electric heir (even then analysis goes on my tumblr typically lol) but i think the commentary on socialism is interesting, or at least it could be depending on how its further elaborated upon --

the idea to take noam from a disgruntled/dissatisfies anarchist to an unhinged accelerationist doomer due to the manipulations of a power-hungry fascist, for instance, is a very interesting and resonant arc that im curious to see how it gets developed further in teh.

the characters are incredible and unique and so so fucked up. the plot is very compact, especially considering its like, what, 500 pages? or at least my ebook copy was lol, but anyways thats a pro for me because it shows that the author had a point and knew how to get there!
the main flaw isnt so much of a flaw as it is a personal preference. i hated the ya dystopia novel prose so much. which, obviously yes its ya dystopia the prose is gonna be befitting of the genre. that ones on me ! but you could see various glimpses of the authors ability to write genuinely good, sensorially & thematically resonant, creative prose shine through at moments before being swiftly crushed by genre and publishing expectations

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Deportation, Alcohol, Racism, Terminal illness, Classism, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Xenophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Rape, Police brutality, and Physical abuse

Minor: Eating disorder and Domestic abuse

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

challenging dark emotional funny tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

just as good as people say it is. read house of leaves right now & go into it blind. trust me on this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Stalking, Violence, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Child abuse, and Suicide