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2treads's reviews
411 reviews
Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera
The narrative form was confusing and I was getting nothing out of the story.
Better the Blood by Michael Bennett
dark
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A solid crime thriller that kept me interested. Bennett telling a story of colonization and it's reverberating legacy resonates with me as a descendant of peoples who were exterminated(Tainos) and stolen and brutalized from their home(West Africans). So I carry the inheritance of land stolen and laws made and executed to the benefit of the colonizer. It was easy to commiserate with Lucky and to see why he believed that he had to do what he did.
If I had one thing to complain about, it would be the lack of consequences for that yt r@pist in the first part of the book.
If I had one thing to complain about, it would be the lack of consequences for that yt r@pist in the first part of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Death of parent
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I felt like I was dropped into the middle of an already established story, so I felt lost for most of the story.
Naniki by Oonya Kempadoo
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
What's the most creative book you've read this year?
#naniki is that book for me. Not just in terms of how Kempadoo utilizes prose and poetry, but also in the story she tells. So very Caribbean as a whole, yet with each island visited and experienced, we see the distinct characteristics of every one and eventual changes as we ride the tide of time.
Infused with the influences of all the people who have imhabited and impacted our beautiful region(Tainos, Kalinagos, Africans, Indians), Skelele and Amana are tasked with finding the knowledge of our past in hopes of saving our beleaguered future. Travelling through seas polluted with plastics and oil spills unto islands that have been modified to support lifeforms in a climate-ravaged world, they see the danger that is slowly creeping towards both their homes of sea and sky.
I loved the imagery that was conjured and the very appropriate use of domed resorts, deforestation, and mining that was used to represent the adapting faces of our lands in an effort to survive the damage we've caused; using our myths and other cultural aspects was an ingenius way of immersing the reader into this familiar and all to real representation that she has created.
This won't be for everyone, but as a reader with an intimate and forever connection to the Caribbean, these words resonated with me.
#naniki is that book for me. Not just in terms of how Kempadoo utilizes prose and poetry, but also in the story she tells. So very Caribbean as a whole, yet with each island visited and experienced, we see the distinct characteristics of every one and eventual changes as we ride the tide of time.
Infused with the influences of all the people who have imhabited and impacted our beautiful region(Tainos, Kalinagos, Africans, Indians), Skelele and Amana are tasked with finding the knowledge of our past in hopes of saving our beleaguered future. Travelling through seas polluted with plastics and oil spills unto islands that have been modified to support lifeforms in a climate-ravaged world, they see the danger that is slowly creeping towards both their homes of sea and sky.
I loved the imagery that was conjured and the very appropriate use of domed resorts, deforestation, and mining that was used to represent the adapting faces of our lands in an effort to survive the damage we've caused; using our myths and other cultural aspects was an ingenius way of immersing the reader into this familiar and all to real representation that she has created.
This won't be for everyone, but as a reader with an intimate and forever connection to the Caribbean, these words resonated with me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I love how queer this book was. But one of the main characters made terrible sexual choices that made me shake my head.
A story of reincarnated lovers, one who remembers and the other who must be reminded. The incorporation of the fox spirit and both sides of its characteristics was interesting and held my attention. Using tim as a setting for how the lovers came together and interacted was done well.
A story of reincarnated lovers, one who remembers and the other who must be reminded. The incorporation of the fox spirit and both sides of its characteristics was interesting and held my attention. Using tim as a setting for how the lovers came together and interacted was done well.
Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
2 stars just for the writing.
WHAT WAS THE REASON??!!
There was no end game. It was just a loose collection of sexual deviance and proclivities within the land of the rich and with characters who think they've taken their trauma and turned it into power.
I feel like Emezi was testing her literary darling status by writing this. The yt girlies can put out trash and aimless empty stories and get lauded, so they were like why not me?
WHAT WAS THE REASON??!!
There was no end game. It was just a loose collection of sexual deviance and proclivities within the land of the rich and with characters who think they've taken their trauma and turned it into power.
I feel like Emezi was testing her literary darling status by writing this. The yt girlies can put out trash and aimless empty stories and get lauded, so they were like why not me?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
Daughter of Fire by Sofia Robleda
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A story that looks at straddling identities and finding a way to be true to both sides of one's heritage. I enjoyed how the heroine finally found the strength to honour her mother's legacy, escape her iron-fisted father and finally find a way back to her love.
The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
If you like space-faring heists with an odd-ball group of characters who each bring their own quirk to the team, you will like this story.
Kitasei's mismatched band of artifact retrievers will have you laughing and commiserating. There's a cybernetic soldier, a robot with dreams of evolving to be more human, a Fenro seeking lost knowledge for his people and a human who wants to make amends for a past of thievery.
I enjoyed this read because Kitasei has not only written a space heist, she has infused it with themes that are familiar: found family, friendship, prejudice, plague, violence, and ignorance. Even now we still fear what we do not understand.
Kitasei's mismatched band of artifact retrievers will have you laughing and commiserating. There's a cybernetic soldier, a robot with dreams of evolving to be more human, a Fenro seeking lost knowledge for his people and a human who wants to make amends for a past of thievery.
I enjoyed this read because Kitasei has not only written a space heist, she has infused it with themes that are familiar: found family, friendship, prejudice, plague, violence, and ignorance. Even now we still fear what we do not understand.
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I liked this cozy science-based mystery romance. With quirky and loveable characters, Cathrall's story is a really fun read.