elwirax's reviews
478 reviews

There were some interesting concepts and themes in this anthology. Unfortunately, the conclusions and overall executions for many of them didn't work out for me.


Reckless Eyeballing: 2.5
Eye and Tooth: 3.5
Wandering Devil: 3
Invasion of the Baby Snatchers: 3
The Other One: 2
Lasirén: 2.5

The Rider: 3
The Aesthete 2.5
Pressure: 2.5
Dark Home: 3
Flicker: 3
The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World: 3


The Norwood Trouble: 3
A Grief of the Dead: 1
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree: 2
An American Fable: 3
Your Happy Place: 2
Hide and Seek: 3
Origin Story: 2.5

2.92 rounded up

It makes me so happy to see myself represented more in literature. However, I was really hoping that the representation would be more natural and not as 'forced' for lack of a better word. Many of the stories centred around the main characters thinking there was something wrong with them and that they had to force themselves to have sex or other characters tried to force them. While these are real and valid asexual experiences, I was looking for some more self-acceptance,  normalisation and lightness in these stories. I got some of that from Smells like Teen Virgin but the plot itself fell into much of the same aforementioned issues. Sealights was perhaps the closest I got to representation that felt natural and I really enjoyed it for that aspect.


Overall, there were definitely a few stories that I really enjoyed such as Across the Stars, Well Suited, Sealights and The Witch of Festa Falls. A few didn't work out but such are the ways of anthologies. I really hope to see more ace rep in the coming years.

 

How to love a sidewinder: 3.5
Across the stars: 3.75
Well Suited: 3.75
Nylon Bed Socks: 3
Give up the Ghost: 3.5
No Such Thing as Just: 1
Smells Like Teen Virgin: 3.75
Sealights: 3.75
Moonspirited: 3
The Third Star: 2.5
The Mermaid's Sister: 2
The Hazards of Pressing Play: 1
No Cure for Doubt: 2.5
The Witch of Festa Falls: 4

A really interesting anthology of Arctic horror stories by many Indigenous authors. It was wonderfully constructed, each story was different with a variety of genres, yet, there were common threads like setting and themes which held them together. While I found the plots and lore intriguing, the writing in many of these stories lacked depth, namely in its 'telling' aspect and would've benefited from some more editing. This in turn, failed to illicit the emotions these stories would warrant. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable anthology and from a culture I've never read before.


 

Iqsinaqtutalik Piqtuq: The Haunted Blizzard by Aviaq Johnston- (3.5/5) 

The Door by Ann. R. Loverok- (3.25/5) 

Wheetago War II: Summoners by Richard Van Camp-  (3/5) 

Revenge by Thomas Anguti Johnston- (3.5/5) 

Lounge by Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley and Rachel Qitsualik- Tinsley-  (3.25/5) 

Utiqtuq by Gayle Kabloona- (3/5) 

Sila by K.C. Carthew- ( 3/5) 

The Wildest Game by Jay Bulckaert- (3.5/5) 

Strays by Repo Kempt- (3/5)

Really atmospheric and beautifully written, however, I did think it was too wordy at some points and it was difficult to follow and stay focused on the audiobook (though the narrator was great). Perhaps it would've been better read physically. I enjoyed the dual timeline, yet, this also made the story jump about a lot and I didn't know what was going on half the time. The ending was a little rushed (the back story of how Ruby and Bridie knew each other and what happened to Christabel). On that note, I wanted more explanation for Christabel's character, not much was given and Ruby being a ghost didn't add anything to the overall story which makes me wonder what the intent was.


Overall, an interesting wee book just didn't work for me.

I can't say that this will have a lasting impact on me but it was fine.

I was left with many questions like what makes a human "food grade" as opposed to the consumer, I don't think someone without a first and last name is satisfying enough. How were people convinced into cannibalism, people are not that susceptible to propaganda and they are not passive agents. Why were there limited protests to this? Why weren't alternative meat products made? Perhaps this would deflect from the message, however, I did not find it fully compelling. This could've had such a powerful message concerning race and gender issues, but I'm not sure the animal cruelty theme shone through as much as it should've. There was a spark of a conversation on government power and conspiracies which could've been impactful commentary had it been explored past a conversation between teenagers. 

I personally don't believe Marcos' reasoning for doing the work he did was justified and the ending was extremely rushed and made no sense. Unfortunately, a disappointing read.

I don't really know how to feel about this book. The author clearly went in with a certain agenda and very much stuck to it throughout. However, I cannot be certain that she actually explained why we should preserve these books other than 'they're kinda cool'. The discussion on power dynamics was very surface-level and almost dismissed which was a shame. 

The subject matter in this book is very important and well researched. It touched upon aspects I have not fully considered or researched and its call for a re-examination of the definitions of terrorism and recognising male violence against women as such, was commendable. However, I did find it be rather repetitive in places which made the book longer than necessary and I found the final segment discussing further actions to be very surface level.
 

It spoke a lot about white supremacy but scarcely in terms of intersectionality. A few examples were mentioned such as the Christchurch shooting and how the media tends to define terrorism based on the skin colour of the perpetrator i.e when they're Black or Brown it's terroism but when they're white they're "troubled". However, there was very little in the way of discussions on aspects such as misogynoir. While this may not be a central focus of the book, i think its important to discuss nonetheless. 

I don't want to say that this book made sweeping statements but at times it did make points and not support them with any evidence or sources. Additionally it would say things like "there are many examples of this" but didn't list any which was not conducive to a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. This also made it seem less research heavy at times hence, read like an overview rather than an in depth sociological analysis. 

Overall, I cannot refute the importance of this book in terms of gender studies. I would definitely recommend it for those who wish to further their knowledge in this area as well as online communities and their influences offline.

I watched the mini series when it came out earlier this year and really enjoyed the social commentary and soothing plot (it also stayed true to the graphic novel which is great). Really sweet, would recommend.