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A review by halaagmod
Into the Gray by Margaret Killjoy
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
2.5
The main reason I don't read a ton of short stories is that there's only so much that an author can do to make a good, interesting, and engaging narrative while staying within the range of what's considered a short story. That, unfortunately, is what went wrong here.
The characters were all extremely interesting, and the premise promising. A trans woman who lures men to their death for coin and the love of a beautiful, immortal mermaid? Of <i>course</i> I thought I'd be all over this. But much of the writing is choppy in places, there's too much flowery dialogue from Laria about love and life getting in the way of expanding upon the characters and getting the reader to care about them and their plight (which is saying something if that's a con, because I'm a bitch for flowery prose), and the pacing, as expected from a book of only twenty-two pages, is absolutely terrible.
Were this a novella instead, where more could have been expanded upon and the author could have taken her time to craft a better conflict and develop the characters and their personalities more, I feel this could have easily have become an instant five star read. But instead we get a half-baked romance with a mediocre supernatural twist and an abrupt ending that does little to actually wrap the book together.
The characters were all extremely interesting, and the premise promising. A trans woman who lures men to their death for coin and the love of a beautiful, immortal mermaid? Of <i>course</i> I thought I'd be all over this. But much of the writing is choppy in places, there's too much flowery dialogue from Laria about love and life getting in the way of expanding upon the characters and getting the reader to care about them and their plight (which is saying something if that's a con, because I'm a bitch for flowery prose), and the pacing, as expected from a book of only twenty-two pages, is absolutely terrible.
Were this a novella instead, where more could have been expanded upon and the author could have taken her time to craft a better conflict and develop the characters and their personalities more, I feel this could have easily have become an instant five star read. But instead we get a half-baked romance with a mediocre supernatural twist and an abrupt ending that does little to actually wrap the book together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Gore
Minor: Transphobia and Misogyny