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mars2k's Reviews (234)
Dry. Overly academic. Will revisit at some point, though.
dark
informative
medium-paced
“Vampires are good to think with.”
The Vampire: A New History is little more than a string of anecdotes which become increasingly disorganised as the book progresses. Some of these anecdotes are fascinating – vampires’ deadly gaze mirroring that of the basilisk, Arthur Coga’s interspecies blood transfusion, the Catholic Church’s efforts to build an all-encompassing mythos – but the way the text flits from one assertion to another without rhyme or reason, then folds back on itself to repeat points already made, then delves into a subject only tangentially relevant to vampirism can be a little frustrating. Groom talks at length about Frankenstein because of the recurring blood motif, yet he barely skims The Vampyre. He discusses Dracula in the final chapter but his analysis isn’t particularly thorough. I’m curious as to why, after establishing the link between vampire myths and blood libel, as well as noting Count Dracula’s hooked nose and association with money, he’s so eager to dismiss any antisemitic tropes in Dracula as pure coincidence.
The “Conclusion” wasn’t a conclusion at all; rather, a rushed survey of post-Dracula vampire fiction. This ought to have been expanded. Groom already notes Dracula’s significance in the field of vampirology, with distinct pre- and post-Dracula eras of vampire tales. Why not lean into this? It seems natural to (quite literally) centre Dracula, to have the first half of the book detailing what inspired the novel and the second half exploring works that were, in turn, inspired by it.
The Vampire: A New History is not without merit, but it feels like the first draft of what could have been a much stronger book. I can’t decide whether or not I’d recommend it so I’m giving it a middle-of-the-road three star rating.
CONTENT WARNINGS: all the typical vampire stuff (death/undeath, murder, blood), as well as execution, disease, medical experiments, animal cruelty, body horror, racism, antisemitism, and misogyny
The Future of Difference: Beyond the Toxic Entanglement of Racism, Sexism and Feminism
Sophie Lewis, Sabine Hark, Paula-Irene Villa
challenging
slow-paced
The foundation of this book is an occurrence dubbed “The Cologne Incident” wherein hundreds of women reported cases of sexual violence on New Years Eve 2015 by “dark-skinned” “foreign” men in Cologne and various other cities around Germany. I hadn’t heard about it but it seems to be something of a touchstone in German political discourse.
It would be more accurate to say this book is around the attacks in Cologne than about them. And that would be fine if the topic were used as a jumping-off point to then discuss feminists’ susceptibility to racism or how racists co-opt feminist rhetoric as a Trojan horse for their agendas, but it isn’t. It’s just referred to repeatedly without much being contributed to the conversation.
It would be more accurate to say this book is around the attacks in Cologne than about them. And that would be fine if the topic were used as a jumping-off point to then discuss feminists’ susceptibility to racism or how racists co-opt feminist rhetoric as a Trojan horse for their agendas, but it isn’t. It’s just referred to repeatedly without much being contributed to the conversation.
I think it ought to be noted that both authors are white and non-Muslim (as far as I’m aware, at least). I don’t bring this up to argue that they can not or must not write a book on racism and Islamophobia, but they don’t really have any new insight to offer and so they end up making fairly basic observations or repeating what has already been said by countless scholars and activists before them. Perhaps they could have taken a different approach. I’d have been interested to read about their perspectives as white women on being used as pawns in a game of xenophobia. To what extent are white women complicit in this? Which came first, the racism or the feminism? Is the feminism just a cover for the racist rhetoric, or are Muslims/immigrants/POC just collateral damage in the struggle for (white) women’s liberation? Are feminazis a real thing now?
I know it’s crass to tell authors how they should have written their books, but this is one of those instances where I do wish this book were something else.
The Future of Difference isn’t really about the “Future” of anything, and it’s only about “Difference” insofar as it mentions othering and us-vs-them narratives. It could have been so much more. I have to admit I’m disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend this book, not because it’s outrageously bad; rather, it simply has very little to offer.
CONTENT WARNINGS: xenophobia, racism (re: Arabs and North Africans especially), Islamophobia, misogyny, sexuality and sexualisation (consensual and not), sexual assault/harassment discussed but not described in graphic detail
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First things first, the artwork is gorgeous. The colour palettes, the character designs, the cosmoknights’ power armour, the backgrounds – it’s all just spot-on. Even the sound effects are well-integrated. The pacing is rather brisk for the most part but quiet/tense moments are allowed to breathe.
I don’t have too much to say about the story because honestly it’s quite simple. I worried the feminist critique was a little too simplistic and bordering on naïve, but Kate came along to say exactly what I was thinking:the protagonists’ intentions are noble but by participating in the games they’re only ever operating within the patriarchal system rather than dismantling the system altogether for true liberation. Like YES thank you! I’m glad (and surprised!) that point was brought up and I’m curious to see how the story develops from here.
I don’t have too much to say about the story because honestly it’s quite simple. I worried the feminist critique was a little too simplistic and bordering on naïve, but Kate came along to say exactly what I was thinking:
This is very much the first book in a series. It does a great job of establishing the world and the characters but there isn’t a whole lot of payoff in this volume. It’s setting up for a sequel, which I look forward to reading when it comes out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Classism
I got halfway through this book and I no longer feel the need to force myself to keep reading. I don’t find the characters compelling except maybe Harrowhark, but I’m getting tired of her constantly wandering off without explanation. There are far too many characters and factions introduced all at once, fights happen for seemingly no reason, and on the whole the story comes across as an ensemble of OCs with “plot” thrown in as an afterthought. Gideon’s behaviour doesn’t fit with her backstory so every time she does anything I’m like ?? why are you like this?
The setting is interesting in theory (sci-fi + gothic is very much my style) but the execution is limited. The lack of descriptive prose makes it hard to visualise, well, anything. It’s dialogue-heavy, and the dialogue is kind of cringey.
I’d hoped it was just a rough start but at the 50% mark I’ve finally decided to call it a day. I may revisit it at some point but for now I need to move on to something else.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was excited to read Enigma and it didn’t disappoint. At first I wasn’t a fan of the scratchy art style but over the course of the story the artwork became more refined. I assumed that this shift was intended to parallel the protagonist’s arc of self-discovery, but in reality it was simply a result of the artist’s skills developing over time. I wasn’t the only one to think it was a deliberate stylistic choice, however. It became something of a myth that even some of the people who worked on the graphic novel bought into. A fiction being accepted as fact and displacing the truth – how very Enigma!
The writing has the edginess and attitude the 1990s are known for, but in the midst off all that there’s a strangely sweet queer romance. I wasn’t expecting such a genuinely tender moment of two men in love holding each other. The characterisation is strong, Michael being a young man paradoxically afraid to confront the unknown yet eager to learn more about the mysterious Enigma, and Enigma himself adopting “parameters” in order to build an identity and cope with an overwhelming world.
I could talk at length about the themes of the story – sexuality, identity, selfhood, reality, truth, and so on – but I think I’ll have to rein it in before I start gushing.
Enigma is a good book. It’s not perfect, but I must admit I like it both in spite of its flaws and because of them. I’ll definitely revisit it at some point. I recommend you give it a read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
medium-paced
“I am strongly drawn to Camp, and almost as strongly offended by it.”
Trying to explain camp is like trying to explain a joke or a magic trick – it’s awkward and deflating and something of a faux pas. That’s not to say Sontag had nothing insightful to offer. I liked the idea of a continuity of Dandyism and Camp with Oscar Wilde standing as a transitional figure, the idea of “Being-as-Playing-a-Role”, and of irony triumphing over tragedy. But then that’s all she has: ideas. From the title I should have known to expect only Notes, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that Sontag didn’t take this sketch and use it as the basis for something more refined. Notes on Camp feels incomplete. I don’t quite understand why it was published, what it’s trying to say, or who it’s for. The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mention of homosexuality left me particularly perplexed. Sure, this was written in the 1960s so I imagine there was some (self?-)censorship involved, but even so it just feels ridiculous for her to have written an essay about camp and disregarded queer culture almost entirely.
This book paired the titular essay with “One Culture and the New Sensibility,” also by Sontag, which was just as underwhelming, if not moreso. I think it was about the artificial division between so-called high and low culture, but I’m not 100% sure because it all seemed quite vague and wishy-washy.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Classism
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
Messy bitches all round.
Exceptionally well-written, until the ending where it felt like the brakes were slammed; it faltered then just kind of stopped, and not in a satisfyingly unsatisfying way. Still, I liked it a lot.
Exceptionally well-written, until the ending where it felt like the brakes were slammed; it faltered then just kind of stopped, and not in a satisfyingly unsatisfying way. Still, I liked it a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Car accident, Murder, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, Classism
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
You know when a book is just good and you don’t have a whole lot to say about it besides that? That’s Snapdragon. The artwork is well done, with strong character designs that are simple yet highly expressive, and each panel has just the right amount of detail to make the world feel real while still being easily readable. The characters are easy to love and root for. The story is sweet yet also a little dark, but not in a way that feels inharmonious. It’s just good. Give it a read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Trans Power is an uncomfortable book. I mean this in multiple ways. It’s honest, off-the-cuff, and, dare I say it, raw. But this intimacy goes further than candid discussions of feelings and identity – Roche describes their genitals and masturbation in explicit detail, and they invite their interviewees to do the same. This isn’t a one-off occurrence, it’s virtually the backbone of this entire book. In that sense I suppose it’s a direct sequel to Roche’s previous book Queer Sex (which I haven’t read). With a title like that, however, you know what you’re getting yourself into.
I don’t mean to sound sex-negative. Unapologetic trans embodiment and trans joy ought to be uplifted, not baulked at. It may not have been what I was expecting, but I can appreciate it for what it is.
This book really elicits the freedom to transgress. I particularly liked the last two interviews with Amrou and E-J Scott; the two of them were so insightful and self-assured.
This book really elicits the freedom to transgress. I particularly liked the last two interviews with Amrou and E-J Scott; the two of them were so insightful and self-assured.
Trans Power is one of those books where I’m not sure I like it but I am glad it exists. I’ve heard of cis people picking it up hoping it’ll educate them and being rather thrown off. I can’t say I blame them. I wouldn’t recommend this to a cis person wanting to learn the basics, but I might recommend it to trans people looking for other perspectives on what it means to be trans (particularly nonbinary perspectives) and unfiltered discussion of trans bodies and sexuality.
“I like the thought that we as trans are a prefix to some change that is brilliantly underway but as yet unresolved and partially unrecognisable.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Sexual content, Dysphoria
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Outing, War, Classism