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booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As a narrator, Captain John Wyndham is torn between fascination with Shaharazad's hedonism and a need to maintain his own sense of propriety. He grew up in a strictly religious environment, implicitly having chosen to live away from home due to some degree of transphobia which he never quite describes. I like how his words convey so much of his personality along with Shaharazad, making his paraphrases of her language quite clear and not just pretending she has more decorum than she does. He also makes reference to the serial release of this story's chapters, discussions with his editor, and the fact that he's writing this several decades after the events. Instead of just infodumping, he flags any particularly dense descriptions as skippable for a reader who is already familiar with the setting and recent history, at once providing guidance for readers who dislike dense descriptions, and also deepening the sense of immersion by making the reader party to the world.
Things I love, in no particular order: The clever use of parts of Dracula; the resolution to Eirene Viola's problem; the way Wyndham keeps so tightly to propriety even when it's comically unsuitable to the situation; the narrative style, Shaharazad's bravado and continual attempts to plan as little as possible and still have things work out well enough.
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Classism, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Confinement, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Drug use
Minor: Ableism, Xenophobia, Cursing, Transphobia, Self harm, Sexism, Animal death, and War
imds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Body horror, and Transphobia
ladythana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Drug use
Minor: Blood, War, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia
purplepenning's review
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Religious bigotry
anxiousnachos's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content warnings: drug use, drug addiction, dead bodies, murder, sexual assault (by vampire lure), blood, police brutality, confinement, transphobia
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Transphobia, Murder, and Blood
mar's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, and Torture
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Infidelity