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wanderlustlover's review
3.0
Hugo 2020 Nominations (Best Short Story);
This story, set in America's Civil War era, focus on a fifteen-year-old slave girl, named Sully, who frees herself from bondage by the murder of her owners and all their related family after hearing the man of the house has died in the war. Whats happens unexpectedly because of this becomes the rest of the story.
I very much liked the richness of this story. It's stark, dark, and cruel (or 'crotchety,' as Ziza would say), just as much as it is accepting, loyal, and compassionate. There is blood and gore aplenty, so that as a warning if you weren't quite prepared. The name definitely hits both 'blood' and 'hunger' to a 't' on the story subject matter. I very much loved the interplay with the Balance of Life and Death, and how it must be kept.
I was incredibly glad to see the story ending a surprisingly hopeful note, and something of a beautiful hint about the future relationship of the two main characters.
This story, set in America's Civil War era, focus on a fifteen-year-old slave girl, named Sully, who frees herself from bondage by the murder of her owners and all their related family after hearing the man of the house has died in the war. Whats happens unexpectedly because of this becomes the rest of the story.
I very much liked the richness of this story. It's stark, dark, and cruel (or 'crotchety,' as Ziza would say), just as much as it is accepting, loyal, and compassionate. There is blood and gore aplenty, so that as a warning if you weren't quite prepared. The name definitely hits both 'blood' and 'hunger' to a 't' on the story subject matter. I very much loved the interplay with the Balance of Life and Death, and how it must be kept.
I was incredibly glad to see the story ending a surprisingly hopeful note, and something of a beautiful hint about the future relationship of the two main characters.
bonko's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ishouldreadthat's review
4.0
Read for the 2020 Hugos. My second piece of short fiction from Rivers Solomon, and I'd definitely like to read more from them! The story of a slave carving out a place in the world and the supernatural beings she births (quite literally) after violent actions, this was a powerful tale that I think would be a great one to read over and over -- I think you'd get more out of it each time.
bookish_historian's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lamusadelils's review
4.0
Quienes escriben de manera más poderosa son las mentes que consiguen transmitir la intensidad se sentimientos y experiencias que en muchos casos jamás experimentemos.
Creo que Rivers Solomon es uno de esos casos. A muchas personas nos gusta hablar de paz, de no usar la violencia para atacar la violencia, de tomar el camino moralmente superior... pero eso es fácil de decir cuando siempre has sido libre.
Y a pesar de todo Rivers Solomon nos lleva a un lugar donde, quizá, haya esperanza.
Creo que Rivers Solomon es uno de esos casos. A muchas personas nos gusta hablar de paz, de no usar la violencia para atacar la violencia, de tomar el camino moralmente superior... pero eso es fácil de decir cuando siempre has sido libre.
Y a pesar de todo Rivers Solomon nos lleva a un lugar donde, quizá, haya esperanza.
booking_along's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
as soon as she heard word that Albert, the Missus’s husband, had been slain in battle, she took up arms against the family who’d raised her, slipping a tincture of valerian root and skullcap into their cups of warmed milk before slitting their throats in the night.
with a similar tone to this section of the introduction paragraph to the story, is the entire thing told.
it’s dark and sometimes gruesome, mysterious in the way that it never explained what’s going on and how it happens it why in actual ways that make sense.
but at the same time does a story like this had to offer all the answers to its questions? or is it part of the story to be short enough to not need everything explain and just go along with it?
i am not exactly sure why i enjoyed this but i did.
it’s different and strange, brutal and bloody but also strangely hopeful in moments.
if you want a short horror story that’s different but interesting?
go for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Blood, Suicide, Self harm, and Pregnancy
tinyjude's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
A very weird and bloody short story. The prose was not as polished as in The Deep, and some ideas were very interesting but perhaps with more development I would have loved them more. There is body horror related to pregnancy and rebirth, which was engaging but also made me feel uncomfortable (which I guess was the point (?).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Slavery, Murder, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Violence, and Body horror
sapphiremarie's review
dark
fast-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? It's complicated
2.75
balise's review
5.0
This was weird and disturbing and weirdly disturbing and disturbingly weird, but wow.