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eleana_p's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
A fantasy murder mystery?! I gobbled that up so fast! Thoroughly enjoyable in every way. I really liked the world building and the characters. Looking forward to the next book in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Gore
eviethebookworm's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
A solid science fiction murder mystery! Attack on Titan meets Sherlock Holmes meets Star Trek.
I do however have a major gripe with Rob’s use of the adjective ‘queer’ throughout the book. Especially considering there’s LGBTQIA+ representation, there’s certainly an awareness as to the connotations of using it as a way to describe strangeness. I would have rated this novel higher had there been more care during editing to whittle it out of the manuscript more (because I KNOW that there would have been so many more instances of it).
But alas, it cropped up seven times in the span of 170 pages or so. And that’s only after I got annoyed enough to start marking them!
I do however have a major gripe with Rob’s use of the adjective ‘queer’ throughout the book. Especially considering there’s LGBTQIA+ representation, there’s certainly an awareness as to the connotations of using it as a way to describe strangeness. I would have rated this novel higher had there been more care during editing to whittle it out of the manuscript more (because I KNOW that there would have been so many more instances of it).
But alas, it cropped up seven times in the span of 170 pages or so. And that’s only after I got annoyed enough to start marking them!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Gore and Classism
Minor: Vomit and Drug abuse
mar's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
OKAY. BANGER
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Gore
lbelow's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
4.75
An excellent book and a compelling start to a new series! I'm not often one for Sherlock/Watson duos because a lot of authors take that kind of "smart" to mean "callous". And there's no denying that the Sherlockian character in this book is weird AF (and I suspect on the autism spectrum due to her sensory issues), but she also does things like take the time to check in with Din after he's had a near-death experience. The other thing I loved: the disability rep. Din is dyslexic and that reflects in how he navigates the world as well as the workarounds he comes up with to capture information.
This world is just as weird and unique as its main characters. And it's introduced with just enough finesse for the aspects of the world explored to tie back to the plot. As for that plot, some of the twists I guessed, and at least one important piece I did not. With the way that information is presented in this book, that makes me excited to reread this and pick up on the clues I missed during the first pass.
I recommend this book and will be searching out more by this author!
This world is just as weird and unique as its main characters. And it's introduced with just enough finesse for the aspects of the world explored to tie back to the plot. As for that plot, some of the twists I guessed, and at least one important piece I did not. With the way that information is presented in this book, that makes me excited to reread this and pick up on the clues I missed during the first pass.
I recommend this book and will be searching out more by this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Cursing, Blood, Ableism, Body horror, Murder, Gore, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug use
mo_elcius's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Check out my booktube review at https://youtu.be/eQQA1pC7HWU !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
_mary's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore
julalbert56's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
This was a fun story! The ending was a bit underwhelming but I absolutely loved the characters, they were definitely my favorite part of the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, and Gore
micheala's review against another edition
4.5
I picked this up having enjoyed The Founders Trilogy previously. Plus a fantasy murder mystery sounded like it could be a fun time.
Ana and Din gave me Sherlock/Watson vibes, but not quite as far, with Ana's conclusions being easier to follow. But as someone who doesn't commonly read mysteries I'm not comfortable saying if it's a "fair" mystery, as I'm just along for the ride and never trying to figure it out first.
Bennett does fantastic worldbuilding, and this was no exception. I'm really excited to get more answers about the world in future books. I do wish we had gotten a little more information about the different races in this book.
Ana and Din gave me Sherlock/Watson vibes, but not quite as far, with Ana's conclusions being easier to follow. But as someone who doesn't commonly read mysteries I'm not comfortable saying if it's a "fair" mystery, as I'm just along for the ride and never trying to figure it out first.
Bennett does fantastic worldbuilding, and this was no exception. I'm really excited to get more answers about the world in future books. I do wish we had gotten a little more information about the different races in this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Body horror, Death, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
saltycoffee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
madscientistcat's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder