Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Star Eater by Kerstin Hall

4 reviews

uncommonloon's review

Go to review page

4.25

good plotting/pacing, good worldbuilding, good characterization, interesting themes (the failings of hereditary power in a homonormative, matriarchal society; hints of anti-imperialism). complaints: lack of gender exploration beyond the binary (a necessity in this day and age imo for books that focus on gender like this), colorblind/non race conscious worldbuilding (not "wrong," just tedious that colorblindness was not explored/justified in the way homo/binormativity was), + prose was fairly dry and functional, with occasional flourishes that the author seemed to add more out of obligation than for a desire for beautiful prose. either commit to a spare style or don't, lol. overall though I enjoyed this + thought it had interesting things to say. hmmmm 4.25/5? need to think on it
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sambutwithbooks's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

This was a cool twist on the genre but tbh I wanted more horror from a book casually described on Twitter as "cannibal nuns". I loved when the book actually leaned into the body horror aspects of the plot but when it came to the actual uh, cannibalism....it fell short. 

Especially when El learns that she's a rare type of nun whose body, when consumed to excess, would make the person eating her super powerful- I never really felt the urgency of her being basically hunted for nearly half the book. 

Another issue I fought with was how binary the plot was. The characters- especially the women- are incredibly queer but there's practically no room made for trans or non-binary characters in this world. 

The ending was a little too neatly tied up but at the end of the day I did mostly enjoy this book, I just wanted a little more from it.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

urs's review

Go to review page

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

3.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bentgaidin's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 'Star Eater' is a story that pleasantly surprised me. I picked it up without knowing really anything about it beyond that it was about women who get magic by eating their mothers; I might have guessed that it would be about family trauma, but I was also amused to discover how much office politics was involved too. A lot of the story revolved around intra-group feuds among the magic wielders who control the city; despite the bloody, revolting source of their power, it's all very civilized - which is to say, full of subtle slights and fake smiles and social pressure to conform 'for your own good.' There's also a metaphorical layer about generational trauma; mothers who fear their lives being consumed by their daughters, who will be raised to fear their daughters in turn; men turned into hungry monsters, exiled but inescapable; and the constant fear of not being able to give enough to be worthy, of being bleed dry by other people's demands. The story is a little wobbly at the end, but I'd still recommend this to fans of dark fantasy (by which I mean, watch out for blood, bodily trauma, abuse and rape) - it's a really compelling and original fantasy and it's worth taking a look at. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...