otherworlds's reviews
122 reviews

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Wow, okay, so I had a few issues with this book: the pacing, the short length leaving everything feeling underdeveloped, the preachy social commentary, and the complete failure to reckon with race and settler-colonialism.

It was entertaining, for sure, but it's not the quality I had come to expect from White's work.

The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Okay, I read this because I loved Brother, but this did not measure up. I found it to be a slog for such a short book, and I'm gonna go into why that is.

1. Stevie had such a strong narrative voice, and Rosie was quite the opposite. If you're going to shift between POVs, they have to be equally interesting or else... well.
2. The monster was over-explained to death. This story was truly unnerving me until the first Rosie/Otto section, in which the mystery was lost and so was my fear.
3. Otto's narrative played into ableist tropes.
4. The ending was anticlimactic.
5. The overall pacing was off.

I'm disappointed because there was potential here. There was an effectively eerie mood in the opening segment, Stevie was a great protagonist, and I know Ahlborn can do better than this.

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

3.5

Negative Space by B.R. Yeager

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Well, that sure was a mindfuck! The ending was a bit underwhelming for me but I overall really enjoyed it. I absolutely loved the style and creativity of it all.

With A Vengeance by Freydís Moon

0.0

Knowing that the author is a white person racefaking under a fake identity after losing their previous writing career for being a racist bully, I rescind any support of their work. You can find evidence and explanations at this link: https://twitter.com/porterotica/status/1781662331111633141

With that context, I find this work in particular to be extremely inappropriate, given that it intimately explores a Latinx identity to which Barton has no factual ties, and because Barton has exploited the work of actual queer Latinx writers before under the guise of being Latinx themself.

Exodus 20:3 by Freydís Moon

Knowing that the author is a white person racefaking under a fake identity after losing their previous writing career for being a racist bully, I rescind any support of their work. You can find evidence and explanations at this link: https://twitter.com/porterotica/status/1781662331111633141

We Are Here To Hurt Each Other by Paula Ashe

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Incredible horror. I had to stop reading at multiple points because it was giving me anxiety attacks. Very much worth it. A beautifully narrated, brutal collection, all with the same thesis: we are here to hurt each other.

That being said, heed the trigger warnings, especially when it comes to

child sexual abuse, incest, and self-harm

.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

4.0

A fun, witty, humane little story. Very good palette-cleanser for me between bleak horror fiction and bleaker history nonfiction. 

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

dark emotional tense

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

4.5

Brother by Ania Ahlborn

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

4.0

An unsettling and generally upsetting story, an interesting spin on classic tropes, and a particularly bleak depiction of living in a rural, abusive home.