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vengefuldime's review
4.0
Piper writes haziness well, and there is a feverish tone throughout much of the book. It’s extremely full of metaphors (and blasphemy, of course) but creates a gross mix of negative emotions with a vein of love. Reading from the outside of a Christian or ex-Christian perspective, I can still see the potential of catharsis in carving happiness when and where you aren’t “meant” to.
dsteele's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
georgesreads's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mjtucker's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
1.25
harpoonholly's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Audiobook read by Jenn Lee. Lee is a very good reader and gives unique embodiment to each character. Of course I enjoyed her Annette and Gloria, but her take on Balthazar was very good (read:viscerally frightening ).
I had never read a splatter horror, letalone a western splatter, but I'm comfortable in saying I wouldn't mind reading more. Piper's style comes through even as it is adapted to this genre's unique shape and she is one of the pillars of postmodern speculative writing (read:queer and ambiguous plots ).
It is gruesome, but in a way that's plot relevant. I could definitely read more of this universe if Piper decided to write and release a continuation, similar to how T. Kingfisher's gothic Sworn Soldier duology (which may yet become a trilogy, who knows) has been released.
I had never read a splatter horror, letalone a western splatter, but I'm comfortable in saying I wouldn't mind reading more. Piper's style comes through even as it is adapted to this genre's unique shape and she is one of the pillars of postmodern speculative writing (read:
It is gruesome, but in a way that's plot relevant. I could definitely read more of this universe if Piper decided to write and release a continuation, similar to how T. Kingfisher's gothic Sworn Soldier duology (which may yet become a trilogy, who knows) has been released.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Death, Grief, Blood, Body horror, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Abandonment, Infertility, and Gun violence
Minor: Murder, Self harm, Deadnaming, Violence, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry
Incest and rape are heavily implied, but not stated or described outrightshawn_of_the_read's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
scottneumann's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
readbyashleyd's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.0
I’m right in the middle with this one, I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. Some parts were incredibly interesting and at times I was thoroughly enjoying this novel and convinced it would be a five star read because there’s nothing I enjoy more than a good horror western. This one had some original and unique ideas that I really did enjoy but then one element in particular threw me off the story. There was just SO much god talk and preaching and I have a hard time with things like that, I find it really hard to find enjoyment in that. I did really appreciate the LGBTQIA+ aspect though so definite points for that! So while the story was great, the preachiness prevented it from being as good as it could have been.