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moomints's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
togidemi's review
3.0
I feel weird as hell with this rating because I truly tried my damnedest to like this. Nothing will get me to buy a book faster than the words "queer Catholic cyberpunk" and "body horror fairy tales". Plus, that gorgeous Kim Hu cover art!!
"The Marks of Aegis" was my favorite piece in this collection by far - even though I was surprised by the suddenness of the self-harm in it - and with it being the opening story I had such high hopes for the rest of the book. It was lovely prose, and the celebration of scars and reclaiming one's body was just gorgeous, and it had such impact in the span of three pages. (There's also a bit of a soft spot in my heart for "I Am a Beautiful Bug!") But as the book went on, I started feeling... meh about everything else that was in it? Certainly everything in it is queer as hell, not just in the themes and characters but with little throwaway bits of dialogue and authorly comments, so that was a part of it I enjoyed (though at times it got irritating); I can imagine a cishet person would have kind of a hard time really understanding it.
But the collection is messy, and some, I feel, bumble without really getting to the point or feeling satisfactory. When it got to the longer pieces in the collection I really felt this. I came so close to not finishing the book because of the titular piece - it was so so so so goddamn LONG, going around to different perspectives and characters and pointlessly rambling and going on and on and on I got so exhausted wanting it to be over.
So: interesting ideas, queer as hell, and I appreciate how Jarboe can tweak their writing so some stories have their own distinct voice. But they're kind of messy and all over the place. It might be your jam, but it wasn't mine, which is a fucking shame because GOD were its themes precision-targeted to make me love it.
"The Marks of Aegis" was my favorite piece in this collection by far - even though I was surprised by the suddenness of the self-harm in it - and with it being the opening story I had such high hopes for the rest of the book. It was lovely prose, and the celebration of scars and reclaiming one's body was just gorgeous, and it had such impact in the span of three pages. (There's also a bit of a soft spot in my heart for "I Am a Beautiful Bug!") But as the book went on, I started feeling... meh about everything else that was in it? Certainly everything in it is queer as hell, not just in the themes and characters but with little throwaway bits of dialogue and authorly comments, so that was a part of it I enjoyed (though at times it got irritating); I can imagine a cishet person would have kind of a hard time really understanding it.
But the collection is messy, and some, I feel, bumble without really getting to the point or feeling satisfactory. When it got to the longer pieces in the collection I really felt this. I came so close to not finishing the book because of the titular piece - it was so so so so goddamn LONG, going around to different perspectives and characters and pointlessly rambling and going on and on and on I got so exhausted wanting it to be over.
So: interesting ideas, queer as hell, and I appreciate how Jarboe can tweak their writing so some stories have their own distinct voice. But they're kind of messy and all over the place. It might be your jam, but it wasn't mine, which is a fucking shame because GOD were its themes precision-targeted to make me love it.
nadia55's review
no star rating yet because...I don't quite know how I feel about this book yet. More to come, I hope.
sarah984's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
I enjoyed a few stories in this collection (particularly Self Care, Estranged Children of Storybook Houses, and I Am A Beautiful Bug!) but the more poem-like pieces didn't really interest me and there were a lot of distracting usage errors in the kindle version.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Ableism
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, and Child abuse
dpj's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
hjerteknuser's review
god im sure this book is someone's cup of tea but it's not mine at all
coriandercilantro's review
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Medical content
khristy's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Writing: competent
Plot/characters: it’s a collection of short stories. There are some memorable characters, but I find that it’s hard to really become attached to short story characters. As a whole, I did enjoy the creativity of the plots.
Profundity: we live I a world that’s trying to decide what it means to be human…and where technology fits into all that.
Plot/characters: it’s a collection of short stories. There are some memorable characters, but I find that it’s hard to really become attached to short story characters. As a whole, I did enjoy the creativity of the plots.
Profundity: we live I a world that’s trying to decide what it means to be human…and where technology fits into all that.
andrewthegriffin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
plantpage's review
challenging
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
I did quite like the stories As Tender Feet of Cretan Girls Danced Once Around an Altar of Love and Estranged Children of Storybook Houses but the rest unfortunately not so much