Nicholas McCane

Okay, so I’m going to tell you right now, this book will not be for everyone. I have been seeing a lot of critical reviews and people who have claimed to DNF. I have read all of her books, so let me tell you what I think. My aim is to be as objective as possible. Spoiler free. They marketed this book as an enemy-to-lovers story and a book about Hell. And although this is present, it’s more like a backdrop. This is more of a dark academia that takes place in Hell. So let me make this clear: this is not a romance story.

The main characters are Alice and Peter. They are both PhD students who study analytic magic at Cambridge University. Their advisor dies in a horrible freak magic accident. Instead of mourning like you and I would have done, both Alice and Peter used magic to enter Hell to bring him back. They need his recommendation so they can get good jobs.

Both main characters are a little unlikable, but they will grow on you. And, to be completely honest, the professor is unlikable also; he didn’t grow on me. There were villains in Hell that I liked, and there were some that I didn’t like so much. However, the plot is outstanding; I enjoyed its magic system, and I felt like it was easy to read. And no, you do not need to read Dante’s Inferno (Dante Alighieri), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath), or The Wasteland (T.S. Eliot). So just relax; everything should make sense in context.

I think most people who have an issue with this book probably dislike R.F. Kuang’s version of Hell. I think many people expected it to look different and felt like this Hell was boring. But this is Alice and Peter’s Hell. In this world, Hell looks different to everyone. It depends on who you were and what your life was like. So, this is Hell for nerds. Take that into consideration before jumping into this book. Check your expectations.

There are parts in this book that drag. But if you have read this author’s other books, then you should expect some backstory. Every book in The Poppy War Trilogy dragged at some point, and so did Babel. You should also expect this from Dark Academia. Yellowface didn’t drag, but that was literary fiction. R.F. Kuang did what R.F. Kuang does. Although I predicted the ending, I still enjoyed it. I actually enjoyed it a little more than Babel. With that being said, I’m giving this book 4.25 stars.

The Body Keeps the Score is an amazing look at how trauma lives in your body and mind. The author uses science and stories to show the reader paths to recovery. As a person who has an ACE score of 6/10, I found this book very helpful. I also work with children who are actively experiencing the worst time of their young lives. For over a month, I’ve been reading this. I purchased three copies (2 physical and 1 audiobook). I keep one at home, another at work, and the audiobook for my vehicle just in case I need a quick reference. The statistics and stories are very helpful.

My only criticism is that I don’t feel like the people who practice science in this field give much attention to people with PTSD living in areas surrounded by drugs, violence, and poverty. Some people refer to it as “Hood PTSD.” There are so many people who fall into this category. This book talks a lot about soldiers, but some people in these neighborhoods have seen way more violence and death than soldiers in combat. I grew up in the hood, served 8 years in the Army, and I’m currently on my 16th year in law enforcement. And I’ve experienced more trauma growing up on the south side of Chicago than the other two combined. Let that sink in.

I need a book that dives deeply into systemic or community-level trauma in urban neighborhoods. My next read in this genre will probably be Dr. Joy DeGruy’s Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.

The Body Keeps the Score is an amazing look at how trauma lives in your body and mind. The author uses science and stories to show the reader paths to recovery. As a person who has an ACE score of 6/10, I found this book very helpful. I also work with children who are actively experiencing the worst time of their young lives. For over a month, I’ve been reading this. I purchased three copies (2 physical and 1 audiobook). I keep one at home, another at work, and the audiobook for my vehicle just in case I need a quick reference. The statistics and stories are very helpful.

My only criticism is that I don’t feel like the people who practice science in this field give much attention to people with PTSD living in areas surrounded by drugs, violence, and poverty. Some people refer to it as “Hood PTSD.” There are so many people who fall into this category. This book talks a lot about soldiers, but some people in these neighborhoods have seen way more violence and death than soldiers in combat. I grew up in the hood, served 8 years in the Army, and I’m currently on my 16th year in law enforcement. And I experienced more trauma growing up on the south side of Chicago than the other two combined. Let that sink in.

I need a book that dives deeply into systemic or community-level trauma in urban neighborhoods. My next read in this genre will probably be Dr. Joy DeGruy’s Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.

Okay, so I’m going to tell you right now, this book will not be for everyone. I have been seeing a lot of critical reviews and people who have claimed to DNF. I have read all of her books, so let me tell you what I think. My aim is to be as objective as possible. Spoiler free. They marketed this book as an enemy-to-lovers story and a book about Hell. And although this is present, it’s more like a backdrop. This is more of a dark academia that takes place in Hell. So let me make this clear: this is not a romance story.

The main characters are Alice and Peter. They are both PhD students who study analytic magic at Cambridge University. Their advisor dies in a horrible freak magic accident. Instead of mourning like you and I would have done, both Alice and Peter used magic to enter Hell to bring him back. They need his recommendation so they can get good jobs.

Both main characters are a little unlikable, but they will grow on you. And, to be completely honest, the professor is unlikable also; he didn’t grow on me. There were villains in Hell that I liked, and there were some that I didn’t like so much. However, the plot is outstanding; I enjoyed its magic system, and I felt like it was easy to read. And no, you do not need to read Dante’s Inferno (Marcus Sanders), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath), or The Wasteland (T.S. Eliot). So just relax; everything should make sense in context.

I think most people who have an issue with this book probably dislike R.F. Kuang’s version of Hell. I think many people expected it to look different and felt like this Hell was boring. But this is Alice and Peter’s Hell. In this world, Hell looks different to everyone. It depends on who you were and what your life was like. So, this is Hell for nerds. Take that into consideration before jumping into this book. Check your expectations.

There are parts in this book that drag. But if you have read this author’s other books, then you should expect some backstory. Every book in The Poppy War Trilogy dragged at some point, and so did Babel. You should also expect this from Dark Academia. Yellowface didn’t drag, but that was literary fiction. R.F. Kuang did what R.F. Kuang does. Although I predicted the ending, I still enjoyed it. I actually enjoyed it a little more than Babel. With that being said, I’m giving this book 4.25 stars.