Reviews

In the Sight of Akresa by Ray Wood

mockingjayreads's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 stars! Short stories often feel lackluster for me but this one managed to cover a lot without feeling too quick. I really enjoyed the way it was written, the story is essentially left up to interpretation when it comes to the motivations of the main character. It's quite dark and violent in some parts and honestly I can see this sticking with me.

maryshellley's review against another edition

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1.0

Claire is coward and a very unreliable narrator. Her "love" for Aya looks more like possession, like Aya is a toy that she can play whenever she wants. Aya was really the only character I could empathize with and we know almost nothing about her. I usually love grey characters but Claire is just not for me.

miniaturephilosopher's review against another edition

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5.0

This was very good. On plot and characterization alone, I probably would have given it four stars, but the writing is absolutely wonderful.

geodora's review against another edition

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2.0

"Just as the justice goddess is blind, the god of death is without ears, and cannot be begged or reasoned with."

Kakav je ovo plot twist, zašto

booksandbosox's review

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3.0

Well, that was stone cold.

anaelwynn's review

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2.0

Wow, this was depressing. I really don't know how to put into words the way I feel about In the Sight of Akresa without spoiling the story, so I'll keep it brief and vague. The story was beautifully written and there were aspects of it that intrigued me, but there were quite a few things that bothered me as well.

I really didn't like the ending, it dampened my enjoyment of the story.

natverse's review

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5.0

Well that was depressing.

synth's review

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1.0

Had a lot of potential, but the writing is, mildly put, not very good, and the superficially emotional manipulation of the reader by the author falls very flat. Not to mention the dead wlw and violent woc tropes. I was also uncomfortable with the dubious consent vibe: it is easy to interpret the story as the lord's daughter reading way too much into her interactions with the newly liberated and mute sex slave who only ever initiate intimate gestures to avoid her lover's questions about her past.

prationality's review

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5.0

Oh my love...I am so so sorry.

oliviaedwords's review

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3.0

an interesting, quick read, which i think 100% depends on your interpretation of it. this mostly left me with the question of what ray wood's interpretation of claire's character was. if the reading is that claire is selfish, and just as cruel and entitled as her brother and father (which i think is the case; the girl attacks her falcon just so that she can get time alone with this woman that fascinates her, and animal abuse tends to be a quick way of telling your readers this person sucks!), then i think the ending drives home the truth of claire's character.

claire is in a position of power over aya, quickly discards her when things get dicey for the two of them, and makes the first move on aya, who has been a slave before this point, a person conditioned to servitude and dehumanization. this also features the exociticization and fetishization of a person that is at least darker than the main character, and described in ways that feel just a touch off from the word "savage," and if it was meant to be used as commentary, i think it fell short. other people in the story saw aya as a travesty, a monster that wasn't worth saving, a witch because of what another people did to her, while claire saw her as a vehicle for her freedom and pleasure, not a person that she could know, because they did not speak.

i would have enjoyed this more if there was more nuance to it, more clear signage of what the point of the story is. it's heavy in symbolism ("akresa" is the goddess of justice), but the only people that are hurt in this are the ones without power. there is no justice for aya. just petty revenge from a petulant brother.