Reviews

Baby Teeth by Daniel Polansky

badseedgirl's review

4.0

This is such a dark, dark tale, and there is so much left unexplained. It really has a haunting ending.

tetiana's review

4.0

An atmospheric short-story that packs a lot into its compact form. There are some details left unspecified your mind latches on (pun intended), and I just keep returning to them in my head again and again even after finishing. A really satisfying text to chew on – a master-class of ambiguity done right.

What brought this down for me, personally, is the similarity in backdrop to Stranger Things. I’m vaguely baffled by the appeal of that series, and don’t subscribe to the misplaced 80s nostalgia, so that was lost on me.

But I enjoyed this one nonetheless.

charlottes_literary_shelf's review

dark medium-paced

3.0

snowbenton's review

5.0

It should be harder to kill a person. It shouldn’t be possible. We should be immortal, untouchable, beloved children of a just God. There is a flaw in the system. A mistake has been made.

A perfect short story.

booking_along's review

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

It should be harder to kill a person. It shouldn’t be possible. We should be immortal, untouchable, beloved children of a just God. There is a flaw in the system. A mistake has been made.

this was a bit of a strange one in the sense that i enjoyed it, i liked how this took a bit of a different spin on the vampire thing but for a short story that is really not that long -under 50 pages- it felt too slow and too dragged out in some places. 

maybe because the tone is very monotone and slow.  while there some time jumps in the story to move it along, overall it’s very slow paced. 

i also did not understand at all way the bits about the D&D games where in here other than that i guess the author plays it enjoys it?
because it didn’t really needed to be in the story at all for the story to work. 

i also really disliked how there was almost an uncaring tone towards women and girls and how they were sexualized and shown as interchangeable or expendable. or at least that’s how it felt to me, reading it. 

overall not bad but it could have been better and it wasn’t an overly enjoyable read for me. 

cosmogyral's review

dark mysterious

• Loveable characters? No

1.0

chelseaosborne's review

3.0

kinda wanting this to be a full novel kinda glad it's only 50 pages. the ending was a little weird (like stephen king weird where nothing is really resolved it just ends).

themelancholyofaliterarygirl's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked the writing, it was a pleasant read, the main character was a nice person to read the p.o.v from and Hercules was interesting and I wanted to learn more of, but sadly this story is short and I think the ending was underwhelming and left me feeling disappointed.

The vampire being fat and disgusting while the cover image looks like your stereotypical hot mesmerizing figure was funny af

wardenred's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

 

Everything that is, won’t be. That’s for certain. I know that. You know that. But the thing we’re looking for—it forgot. It thinks it’s special, it thinks it found an out.

There were things about the plot that confused me or, to an extent, annoyed me, but overall, I really liked the feel of the story: the detached, claustrophobic, confusing experience of geeky adolescense. The first brush with things that are too difficult to comprehend and deal with, even for adults. The adults themselves, present and there and in some ways ready to help, but just not close enough. They wouldn't understand, anyway. The gaps between who you'd like to be, and how you perceive yourself, and who you are. All the ways you can be taken advantage of by powers bigger than you are.

A vampire as the centerpiece for the horror part of this plot felt incredibly fitting. Vampires can be the perfect metaphor/vehicle for many bad things, and that definitely includes this brand of isolation.

What deserves a special mention is the depiction of the gradually falling apart D&D group the main character's a part of, and the difference in how the teenage GM treats the other guys around the table and the only female player. That was painfully realistic to me, as an AFAB person who spent a big part of their teenager years seeking escape in tabletop games. I was incredibly lucky to eventually, pretty early on, to stumble upon a group of queer misfits where no one was disadvantaged that way. But still. Familiar.

Things I didn't particularly like:

1. The cover. Don't get me wrong, the artwork is gorgeous, but I have no idea what it has to do with the plot. The vampire depicted on it looks like one of those gothic predators with feelings. The monster in the story is... not that.

2. The "woman in the fridge" trope, present in abundance. To be fair, I felt it was at least acknowledged by the narrative, but I find myself somewhat tired of it these days. 

chaifanatic18's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5