Scan barcode
directorpurry's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Child abuse
ladydewinter's review against another edition
5.0
This was so much fun to read! It's been a while since I read a book that was this different to what I expected, and it was like a sip of cool water when you didn't even know how thirsty you were.
One of the downsides of my job is that so much I read feels really predictable - I chose all the books I read as freely as I can, but I can't lie and say the question "who can I sell this to?" is never on my mind. That is why I it's always fun to read things where the answer to that is "I don't know and I don't care; this is why I read books."
The description of the book made me expect something different, but to be honest now that I've read it I don't know how I would describe it. It starts straightforward enough, with a detective involved in a weird case of what seems to be ritual killings that may also connect to the disappearance of his sister forty years ago. Gus thinks she was taken away by a god - the Greek gods who have presumably returned to earth.
Now, you'd think this would turn into some sort of queer urban fantasy, like a gay version of American Gods, but it thankfully doesn't. It becomes a lot more, and everything culminates in a really quite wonderful retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.
I made sure to pace myself so this would last me until the last day of Christmas in retail - my daily dose of joy that reminded me how much fun reading can be. It's smart and funny and imaginative and has both focus and a wide scope, if that makes sense, and funnily it even has a hockey player in it.
One of the downsides of my job is that so much I read feels really predictable - I chose all the books I read as freely as I can, but I can't lie and say the question "who can I sell this to?" is never on my mind. That is why I it's always fun to read things where the answer to that is "I don't know and I don't care; this is why I read books."
The description of the book made me expect something different, but to be honest now that I've read it I don't know how I would describe it. It starts straightforward enough, with a detective involved in a weird case of what seems to be ritual killings that may also connect to the disappearance of his sister forty years ago. Gus thinks she was taken away by a god - the Greek gods who have presumably returned to earth.
Now, you'd think this would turn into some sort of queer urban fantasy, like a gay version of American Gods, but it thankfully doesn't. It becomes a lot more, and everything culminates in a really quite wonderful retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.
I made sure to pace myself so this would last me until the last day of Christmas in retail - my daily dose of joy that reminded me how much fun reading can be. It's smart and funny and imaginative and has both focus and a wide scope, if that makes sense, and funnily it even has a hockey player in it.
More...