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ladyelfriede's reviews
154 reviews
She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
5.0
On average, a lot of POC female author books I'm interested in have romance and thus I don't read them. Which is a shame cause a lot of my books I read look like I'm a white trash when it's not like that. It's just, when I do seek out POC authors and the plot looks interesting, I see what it is...Either it turns out to be:
1. Romance
2. Smut
or
3. Romantasy
Now let me be clear, I do not care if you like these topics and I have nothing against anyone who does like them.
It's just when it's said and done, all romance is "Do they get together or not or partners with benefits" summed in a nutshell, with smut or fantasy shit.
That's it.
So as such, I veer away from these categories as much as I can because I'm actually interested in the PLOT, not just "plot" (which is fine). Now here's finally a POC book that the main topic of is NOT romance but hones in on being a sci fi/fantasy by being creative.
We're seeing a rise of environmental fantasy and Okorafor is heading that way (at least with this novella, didnt read her other works yet).
The fantasy here is a dead salt lake and the way she weaves around it is interesting AF. The scifi aspect is a post apocalyptic world on Africa where the environment changed drastically and a primary source of water became a salt lake that is now the main source of the mineral of it for surrounding villages and markets.
Top that off, there's a magic system that I won't spoil that was interesting when we encountered it and I'm curious to see how she works this in the next novella.
Still, READ this book, don't just listen to it. Let your brain have enough time to soak in what was said cause if you need a sci fi but don't like sci fi and are a fantasy nerd.
HERE, TAKE THIS NOW
CW: A cat is hit by a stone, but it doesn't die. There is brutality against women as well and the unfair justice of politics. That's all I can really think of here. Nothing is really graphic either way.
Edit: Spoiler here about a death(view spoiler)
Prose: It isn't clunky, it does the job and for the most part, doesn't bog you down with so much tech you're lost trying to figure out wtf is happening. It's neither flowery or functional but a good medium of both. Props, Okorafor
Plot: Don't read this for the plot necessarily. If I summed up the plot, it will just spoil the whole book. The plot is slowly unraveled in this book and you're here for the journey. Salt lake and there's a girl. There's feminine rage but it's a lot more (sadly) realistic. That's all you need to know.
Pace: It kinda just buzzes along. Like any good book, if the book didn't seal you within the first chapter or so, the pace will slog or run depending how much you like it. Either way, it's steady.
Characters: Our MC, Najeeba, is a 13 year old girl but this is not a YA book. I maintain this is still adult. I want to say she has a few facets but everyone else around her kinda is 2D. I would dock some points but I feel like this book is not really about the side characters but a mark in a memoir of Najeeba's life that you're only scratching the surface of it. Do not go in for the characters, go for the NaCl
Vibe: Salt bae, but post apocalyptic Africa
Worldbuilding: Very interesting environment and magic system we're presented. I'm not going to spoil much else by describing it, you'll have to find out yourself
-
I also need to note that this novella might make more sense if you read "Who Fears Death" as this novella is a prequel, however, you can still enjoy it as a standalone (as I did, didn't read the other book yet).
Still, I don't know how I slept on Okorafor, but no longer.
I'm awake, bitch
5/5
1. Romance
2. Smut
or
3. Romantasy
Now let me be clear, I do not care if you like these topics and I have nothing against anyone who does like them.
It's just when it's said and done, all romance is "Do they get together or not or partners with benefits" summed in a nutshell, with smut or fantasy shit.
That's it.
So as such, I veer away from these categories as much as I can because I'm actually interested in the PLOT, not just "plot" (which is fine). Now here's finally a POC book that the main topic of is NOT romance but hones in on being a sci fi/fantasy by being creative.
We're seeing a rise of environmental fantasy and Okorafor is heading that way (at least with this novella, didnt read her other works yet).
The fantasy here is a dead salt lake and the way she weaves around it is interesting AF. The scifi aspect is a post apocalyptic world on Africa where the environment changed drastically and a primary source of water became a salt lake that is now the main source of the mineral of it for surrounding villages and markets.
Top that off, there's a magic system that I won't spoil that was interesting when we encountered it and I'm curious to see how she works this in the next novella.
Still, READ this book, don't just listen to it. Let your brain have enough time to soak in what was said cause if you need a sci fi but don't like sci fi and are a fantasy nerd.
HERE, TAKE THIS NOW
CW: A cat is hit by a stone, but it doesn't die. There is brutality against women as well and the unfair justice of politics. That's all I can really think of here. Nothing is really graphic either way.
Edit: Spoiler here about a death(view spoiler)
Prose: It isn't clunky, it does the job and for the most part, doesn't bog you down with so much tech you're lost trying to figure out wtf is happening. It's neither flowery or functional but a good medium of both. Props, Okorafor
Plot: Don't read this for the plot necessarily. If I summed up the plot, it will just spoil the whole book. The plot is slowly unraveled in this book and you're here for the journey. Salt lake and there's a girl. There's feminine rage but it's a lot more (sadly) realistic. That's all you need to know.
Pace: It kinda just buzzes along. Like any good book, if the book didn't seal you within the first chapter or so, the pace will slog or run depending how much you like it. Either way, it's steady.
Characters: Our MC, Najeeba, is a 13 year old girl but this is not a YA book. I maintain this is still adult. I want to say she has a few facets but everyone else around her kinda is 2D. I would dock some points but I feel like this book is not really about the side characters but a mark in a memoir of Najeeba's life that you're only scratching the surface of it. Do not go in for the characters, go for the NaCl
Vibe: Salt bae, but post apocalyptic Africa
Worldbuilding: Very interesting environment and magic system we're presented. I'm not going to spoil much else by describing it, you'll have to find out yourself
-
I also need to note that this novella might make more sense if you read "Who Fears Death" as this novella is a prequel, however, you can still enjoy it as a standalone (as I did, didn't read the other book yet).
Still, I don't know how I slept on Okorafor, but no longer.
I'm awake, bitch
5/5
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
5.0
TW: Suicide, Depression, and A LOT OF SHIT.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
The last book this guy wrote was a foreshadowing of his own death. My god.
I don't care if this guy seemed overrated or the equivalent of hating a classic, but this book...If you have autism, depression, anxiety, social anxiety, fucking hate capitalism, this is...
...a truly mind fuck of a book. It needs to be read.
I can't begin to describe what this book means to me.
To feel seen of how much I dislike humanity, where I don't understand humanity and feeling like the world is just truly caving in on me.
Oh, but to even understand what Dazai went through you have to understand that back then, mental health wasn't even a fucking concept. You were seen as being dramatic, written off as a lunatic when all you want is a drop of solace. Of relief. To be understood.
Yet, he couldn't get any of that and ended up taking his and his lover's life. Leaving behind a widow and several children.
It took me so long after I read this book to come out of a suicidal spiral as I too have everything that Dazai probably had.
Because this is a classic, you might be tempted to not read this book because the prose might be clunky AF like a lot of writers of this time. For some reason, Dazai has an approachable and conversational prose that it's easy to digest.
...A little too easy to digest depression but hey-
The best thing about this book is the prose and dialogue.
This isn't a worldbuilding, plot, type of book. It's a deep dive into Dazai's semi-autobiographical book. His last spilling of his soul, through the ugliness of himself and the people around him.
To appreciate this book, you have to understand that Dazai, with his undiagnosed autism(?), did not understand people much and thus, he did not treat them properly at times because he did not understand how to treat himself correctly at all. This is not to excuse him of his shit, but this is one of the few people that actually spills his sins against himself and others, beautiful and ugly. He didn't discriminate what went into this work, he just told you what it was. You're not supposed to sympathize with everything he did but you get to understand the simple truth:
We are human.
Dazai couldn't understand people so he felt he was no longer human.
But in fact....he was one of the most human of us all.
5/5
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
The last book this guy wrote was a foreshadowing of his own death. My god.
I don't care if this guy seemed overrated or the equivalent of hating a classic, but this book...If you have autism, depression, anxiety, social anxiety, fucking hate capitalism, this is...
...a truly mind fuck of a book. It needs to be read.
I can't begin to describe what this book means to me.
To feel seen of how much I dislike humanity, where I don't understand humanity and feeling like the world is just truly caving in on me.
Oh, but to even understand what Dazai went through you have to understand that back then, mental health wasn't even a fucking concept. You were seen as being dramatic, written off as a lunatic when all you want is a drop of solace. Of relief. To be understood.
Yet, he couldn't get any of that and ended up taking his and his lover's life. Leaving behind a widow and several children.
It took me so long after I read this book to come out of a suicidal spiral as I too have everything that Dazai probably had.
Because this is a classic, you might be tempted to not read this book because the prose might be clunky AF like a lot of writers of this time. For some reason, Dazai has an approachable and conversational prose that it's easy to digest.
...A little too easy to digest depression but hey-
The best thing about this book is the prose and dialogue.
This isn't a worldbuilding, plot, type of book. It's a deep dive into Dazai's semi-autobiographical book. His last spilling of his soul, through the ugliness of himself and the people around him.
To appreciate this book, you have to understand that Dazai, with his undiagnosed autism(?), did not understand people much and thus, he did not treat them properly at times because he did not understand how to treat himself correctly at all. This is not to excuse him of his shit, but this is one of the few people that actually spills his sins against himself and others, beautiful and ugly. He didn't discriminate what went into this work, he just told you what it was. You're not supposed to sympathize with everything he did but you get to understand the simple truth:
We are human.
Dazai couldn't understand people so he felt he was no longer human.
But in fact....he was one of the most human of us all.
5/5
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
4.25
Morgenstern made something to near perfection. I want to rate this 5 stars, however, the prose and some minor plot nuances dropped this down to a low 4. It's a good 4, just not 4.5 territory.
The problem with this book is more of that the magic of the book got lost because the dreamlike writing she was achieving bogged down a little with prose that wasn't relavent to said dream. Though this book, regardless, is apart of Honorguard Shelf for creating something that did manage to cast the spell it wanted.
Prose: Prose is either a hit or miss. If you read at least 30 pages for it and aren't liking it, just drop it, it doesn't get better. However, if it doesn't irk you, keep going.
She has a problem of not pacing her prose correctly where it starts to just blend in your brain a little TOO much. -.5
Plot: Solid
Pace: It maintains it's pace, it never increases or decreases all that much.
Characters: Not the most in depth, we got a cookie cutter DILF that was about as deep as ankle depth water. The MC is a self insert to be with said cookie cutter. The other characters are interesting, not deep, but do merit interest at least. -.2
Vibe: OH BOY. If you ever needed a vibe book, here. This book is mostly vibe. Keys, darkness, balls, book, coziness sometimes, a touch of darkness. I can see why Booktok ate this up. Appropriately so. +2
Worldbuilding: It's hard to seperate the vibe with the WB, the WB, while not too deep is VERY chaotic but as an art piece of a book, it was well executed. Did a lot of weaving and red herring scenarios that paid off. Some may not pay off but that's sorta the point with this book. 2+
Still, if you need a book to read while drinking whiskey, here ya go. You're not here for characters or any plot or "plot", just vibin' like a saxaphone seal
4.3/5
The problem with this book is more of that the magic of the book got lost because the dreamlike writing she was achieving bogged down a little with prose that wasn't relavent to said dream. Though this book, regardless, is apart of Honorguard Shelf for creating something that did manage to cast the spell it wanted.
Prose: Prose is either a hit or miss. If you read at least 30 pages for it and aren't liking it, just drop it, it doesn't get better. However, if it doesn't irk you, keep going.
She has a problem of not pacing her prose correctly where it starts to just blend in your brain a little TOO much. -.5
Plot: Solid
Pace: It maintains it's pace, it never increases or decreases all that much.
Characters: Not the most in depth, we got a cookie cutter DILF that was about as deep as ankle depth water. The MC is a self insert to be with said cookie cutter. The other characters are interesting, not deep, but do merit interest at least. -.2
Vibe: OH BOY. If you ever needed a vibe book, here. This book is mostly vibe. Keys, darkness, balls, book, coziness sometimes, a touch of darkness. I can see why Booktok ate this up. Appropriately so. +2
Worldbuilding: It's hard to seperate the vibe with the WB, the WB, while not too deep is VERY chaotic but as an art piece of a book, it was well executed. Did a lot of weaving and red herring scenarios that paid off. Some may not pay off but that's sorta the point with this book. 2+
Still, if you need a book to read while drinking whiskey, here ya go. You're not here for characters or any plot or "plot", just vibin' like a saxaphone seal
4.3/5
Tao Te Ching by Laozi
I can sum this book up:
Don't be a dick to people (but he treats women like aliens so go figure)
I'm not going to act like I'm well versed in the classics, but this didn't feel like it was worth the time
X/5, not an expert on this shit
Don't be a dick to people (but he treats women like aliens so go figure)
I'm not going to act like I'm well versed in the classics, but this didn't feel like it was worth the time
X/5, not an expert on this shit
The Book of Witches by Jonathan Strahan
4.5
Not gonna harp on stories I didn't like and just comment on the ones that made me remember them:
"What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata" by P. Djeli Clark:
Fuck, with a name like that, how do I NOT remember a story like it?
"Catechism for Those Who Would Find Witches" by Kathleen Jennings:
Because it was taken in an interview format, was pretty interesting. Way better than "Sleeping Gods", less misogyny to boot
"Escape Artists" by Andrea Hairston:
Honestly, all the poems in this collection are bangers, highly rec
"Met Swallow" by Cassandra Khaw:
Khaw is the horror novella queen, has quality, and improves herself immensely from "The Salt Grows Heavy". If you didn't like her novella, highly rec you read this as it improves plenty.
"The Nine Jars of Nukulu" by Tobi Ogundiran:
Interesting concept this one had, couldn't predict the plot twist (for once in my life) so I applaud you, Ogundiran
"In a Cabin, In a Wood" by Kelly Robson:
I didn't actually LIKE this story, but the fact it sorta fucked me up by the end deserves a mention
"She Who Makes the Rain" by Millie Ho:
Once again, banger poetry, but that said, not a poetry snob so can't judge too hard except to say "oonga boonga, nice verse"
"As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand" by Indrapramit Das:
My book of the year author last year comes in swinging to remind you why he has a hold of your emotions and leaves you teary at the end while also giving you an LSD trip. Slay, King.
"So Spake the Mirrorwitch" by Premee Mohamed:
While I don't remember much of "Butcher", her debut novella (I was dying of heat during Beryl while reading her novella, forgive me), I still remember enjoying her dark fantasy and this one didn't disappoint. A little cliche, but I still enjoyed it
"Just a Nudge" by Maureen McHugh: This is actually a fucking NO, in a not good way. It made a paralell to a horrific author using her famous phrase (and yes, I know it's a common witch phrase but that bitch (not McHugh) ruined it) and the fact McHugh used it made me gag, which was a shame, cause her writing was REALLY good in this story. A benefit of the doubt, I wouldn't overlook this story, it's just my personal peeve.
"Her Ravenous Waters" by Andrea Stewart
Holy shit, I think this was one of my top stories of the collection. I only read Stewart's work a long time ago and DNFed it (but I will come back to it at a later date, just didn't get the right time) but she was very creative with this story.
"Botanica: A Song in Four Movements" by Sheree Renee Thomas:
Oonga boonga, good
"Mask of the Nautilus" by Sheree Renee Thomas:
Very creative story, but a little hard to follow
"Night Riding" by Usman T. Malik:
Liked the way he weaved his narrative
"Witchfires" by E. Lily Yu:
Holy shit, this gave me horrible PTSD of Trumpists and white people being ignorant, thanks lol, great job (not sarcastic)
"The Academy of Ocular Magic" by Miyuki Jane Pinckard:
I thought her last name was Picard and I got confused. Harui's name is now ruined by anime, great story tho
"The Cost of Doing Business" by Emily Y. Teng:
I want to say this was the most creative story in the entire bunch, good job Teng!
"John Hollowback and the Witch" by Amal El-Mohtar:
I think Stewart and Mohtar tie for best stories in this collection, it's hard to choose a top story.
However, just roughly looking at what I liked, I feel this collection is WAY worth the time and money just from the fact this is the first anthology collection I liked MORE than 50% of
Highly rec this collection
4.5/5
"What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata" by P. Djeli Clark:
Fuck, with a name like that, how do I NOT remember a story like it?
"Catechism for Those Who Would Find Witches" by Kathleen Jennings:
Because it was taken in an interview format, was pretty interesting. Way better than "Sleeping Gods", less misogyny to boot
"Escape Artists" by Andrea Hairston:
Honestly, all the poems in this collection are bangers, highly rec
"Met Swallow" by Cassandra Khaw:
Khaw is the horror novella queen, has quality, and improves herself immensely from "The Salt Grows Heavy". If you didn't like her novella, highly rec you read this as it improves plenty.
"The Nine Jars of Nukulu" by Tobi Ogundiran:
Interesting concept this one had, couldn't predict the plot twist (for once in my life) so I applaud you, Ogundiran
"In a Cabin, In a Wood" by Kelly Robson:
I didn't actually LIKE this story, but the fact it sorta fucked me up by the end deserves a mention
"She Who Makes the Rain" by Millie Ho:
Once again, banger poetry, but that said, not a poetry snob so can't judge too hard except to say "oonga boonga, nice verse"
"As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand" by Indrapramit Das:
My book of the year author last year comes in swinging to remind you why he has a hold of your emotions and leaves you teary at the end while also giving you an LSD trip. Slay, King.
"So Spake the Mirrorwitch" by Premee Mohamed:
While I don't remember much of "Butcher", her debut novella (I was dying of heat during Beryl while reading her novella, forgive me), I still remember enjoying her dark fantasy and this one didn't disappoint. A little cliche, but I still enjoyed it
"Just a Nudge" by Maureen McHugh: This is actually a fucking NO, in a not good way. It made a paralell to a horrific author using her famous phrase (and yes, I know it's a common witch phrase but that bitch (not McHugh) ruined it) and the fact McHugh used it made me gag, which was a shame, cause her writing was REALLY good in this story. A benefit of the doubt, I wouldn't overlook this story, it's just my personal peeve.
"Her Ravenous Waters" by Andrea Stewart
Holy shit, I think this was one of my top stories of the collection. I only read Stewart's work a long time ago and DNFed it (but I will come back to it at a later date, just didn't get the right time) but she was very creative with this story.
"Botanica: A Song in Four Movements" by Sheree Renee Thomas:
Oonga boonga, good
"Mask of the Nautilus" by Sheree Renee Thomas:
Very creative story, but a little hard to follow
"Night Riding" by Usman T. Malik:
Liked the way he weaved his narrative
"Witchfires" by E. Lily Yu:
Holy shit, this gave me horrible PTSD of Trumpists and white people being ignorant, thanks lol, great job (not sarcastic)
"The Academy of Ocular Magic" by Miyuki Jane Pinckard:
I thought her last name was Picard and I got confused. Harui's name is now ruined by anime, great story tho
"The Cost of Doing Business" by Emily Y. Teng:
I want to say this was the most creative story in the entire bunch, good job Teng!
"John Hollowback and the Witch" by Amal El-Mohtar:
I think Stewart and Mohtar tie for best stories in this collection, it's hard to choose a top story.
However, just roughly looking at what I liked, I feel this collection is WAY worth the time and money just from the fact this is the first anthology collection I liked MORE than 50% of
Highly rec this collection
4.5/5
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Here's the TLDR:
Dracula needed a Librarian. Too old to not wait around for the 21st century and watch anime and realize that the ideal candidate is NEET librarians trying to escape life.
Instead, he chooses an unwilling professor in the 20th century that just writes Dracula's own demise cause everyone now wants revenge on Dracula. 5 v 1? You brought teeth to a gun fight? REALLY?! 500 YEARS DOESN'T TELL YOU NOT TO BRING ANYTHING TO A FIGHT?!
SO MUCH FOR FEELING LIKE YOU'RE "MODERN", EH?!
Unclear if he's still alive or not at the end but at the end of the day, same with OG "Dracula".
Needless to say, after I got to the plot twist that the whole entire reason for the journals was basically a giant job application, I sped read to the end.
Not in a good way.
This book should have been cut down by at least 300 pages, for even the historian in me, felt like this was too much history for a fictional novel. Keyword "NOVEL". This is not a textbook to study Ottoman vs Wallachia and Bulgaria history, it's a MOFO novel.
Too much dry prose describing our scenery, so much archaic prose that could have been said eloquently, "I stared at the ceiling", and 10 LINES DESCRIBING THAT WE'RE STUCK IN A COFFIN?! Like, no. I get it, it's an art piece of a book, but that the fact that everything was so dryly executed, not understanding pacing (EVEN FOR A HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK) was just bad. This was published many years ago and her debut so I get it, but holy hell.
No.
Prose: Dry
Pace: Nonexistant
Plot: Good, but not executed well enough that we miss the point of some declarations of "surprise".
Vibe: Actually VERY good, because we get so much prose for thoughts and atmosphere, we get a good feel of the book and the reason why this is not flat out 1 star. +0.5
"Horror": For someone who cried watching "Alien" this was like, not scary. I mean a few moments of "oh shit" but nothing to keep me awake at night. Don't go in this for horror by any stretch. Much less vampires, it's just a glorified Dracula fanfic
THAT BLURB LIED
Characters: For being a historical character drama, besides the dad, Rossi, and mom, everyone was sorta 1 dimensional. Don't go in this for any deep psychoanalyzation of the human psyche
WB: TOO MUCH. It's historical fiction, so some things are true and some things aren't. Namely, vampires existing. Though, they gave WAY too much information of our surroundings that turned out to not be important anyway, and was just to set the vibe. Like...too much vibe, wb, and dry prose. Nah, I'm out. -5
If you LOVE talking about the Ottoman empire, history of Wallachia, and I mean, LOVEE, these subjects, you might like this book.
Everything else, HARD PASS
0.5
Dracula needed a Librarian. Too old to not wait around for the 21st century and watch anime and realize that the ideal candidate is NEET librarians trying to escape life.
Instead, he chooses an unwilling professor in the 20th century that just writes Dracula's own demise cause everyone now wants revenge on Dracula. 5 v 1? You brought teeth to a gun fight? REALLY?! 500 YEARS DOESN'T TELL YOU NOT TO BRING ANYTHING TO A FIGHT?!
SO MUCH FOR FEELING LIKE YOU'RE "MODERN", EH?!
Unclear if he's still alive or not at the end but at the end of the day, same with OG "Dracula".
Needless to say, after I got to the plot twist that the whole entire reason for the journals was basically a giant job application, I sped read to the end.
Not in a good way.
This book should have been cut down by at least 300 pages, for even the historian in me, felt like this was too much history for a fictional novel. Keyword "NOVEL". This is not a textbook to study Ottoman vs Wallachia and Bulgaria history, it's a MOFO novel.
Too much dry prose describing our scenery, so much archaic prose that could have been said eloquently, "I stared at the ceiling", and 10 LINES DESCRIBING THAT WE'RE STUCK IN A COFFIN?! Like, no. I get it, it's an art piece of a book, but that the fact that everything was so dryly executed, not understanding pacing (EVEN FOR A HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK) was just bad. This was published many years ago and her debut so I get it, but holy hell.
No.
Prose: Dry
Pace: Nonexistant
Plot: Good, but not executed well enough that we miss the point of some declarations of "surprise".
Vibe: Actually VERY good, because we get so much prose for thoughts and atmosphere, we get a good feel of the book and the reason why this is not flat out 1 star. +0.5
"Horror": For someone who cried watching "Alien" this was like, not scary. I mean a few moments of "oh shit" but nothing to keep me awake at night. Don't go in this for horror by any stretch. Much less vampires, it's just a glorified Dracula fanfic
THAT BLURB LIED
Characters: For being a historical character drama, besides the dad, Rossi, and mom, everyone was sorta 1 dimensional. Don't go in this for any deep psychoanalyzation of the human psyche
WB: TOO MUCH. It's historical fiction, so some things are true and some things aren't. Namely, vampires existing. Though, they gave WAY too much information of our surroundings that turned out to not be important anyway, and was just to set the vibe. Like...too much vibe, wb, and dry prose. Nah, I'm out. -5
If you LOVE talking about the Ottoman empire, history of Wallachia, and I mean, LOVEE, these subjects, you might like this book.
Everything else, HARD PASS
Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
4.5
I like to think the lesson we can learn from this is:
(view spoiler)
Fr
Prose: Actually decent for a novella. Usually it's a bit subpar, but this was an instance where I listened to this on audiobook and could TELL it was good. +.5
Pace: Brrs to the end, never really lulls too long if there is and keeps the momentum pretty well
Plot: Murder mystery. Finally, a book that doesn't go to tropes 24/7
Vibe: Rootin' tootin' ambigous ethnicity cowgirl shootin'
Character: Just....gimme the demon lord. Not the best of characters but I've seen worse. Ambigous ethnicity, doesn't really go into diversity too hard but it seems like it's implied there is. That said, because they weren't too deep, -.5
Worldbuilding: Decent, but not a whole lot of it. It's more of a fiction book with demons and rocks that make your eyes sparkle and shit, but Roanhorse didn't really go into depth what that actually means besides people thinking she's the spawn of satan. -.5
All that said, this seems like a good start and not overwhelming to get into Roanhorse's work. I'll be reading Black Sun at some point this or next year and felt like I got my feet wet enough to understand how Roanhorse writes. One of the must have in dark "fantasy" novellas, a very good ride
4.5/5
(view spoiler)
Fr
Prose: Actually decent for a novella. Usually it's a bit subpar, but this was an instance where I listened to this on audiobook and could TELL it was good. +.5
Pace: Brrs to the end, never really lulls too long if there is and keeps the momentum pretty well
Plot: Murder mystery. Finally, a book that doesn't go to tropes 24/7
Vibe: Rootin' tootin' ambigous ethnicity cowgirl shootin'
Character: Just....gimme the demon lord. Not the best of characters but I've seen worse. Ambigous ethnicity, doesn't really go into diversity too hard but it seems like it's implied there is. That said, because they weren't too deep, -.5
Worldbuilding: Decent, but not a whole lot of it. It's more of a fiction book with demons and rocks that make your eyes sparkle and shit, but Roanhorse didn't really go into depth what that actually means besides people thinking she's the spawn of satan. -.5
All that said, this seems like a good start and not overwhelming to get into Roanhorse's work. I'll be reading Black Sun at some point this or next year and felt like I got my feet wet enough to understand how Roanhorse writes. One of the must have in dark "fantasy" novellas, a very good ride
4.5/5