Devi Nair
🎧 Listened in audio 📢 Narrated by Catherine Ho ⏱ Duration: 10 hours 🏷️ Publisher: Recorded Books Inc. & Solaris 📅 Release Date: September 12, 2023 📖 Read as: Part of Book Club March Reads 🎭 Genre: Cozy Mystery (Queer Sci-Fi Retelling / Locked-Room Thriller)
I went in intrigued. A queer sci-fi Hamlet retelling set inside a locked laboratory with an AI named Horatio? On paper, this is catnip for anyone who loves genre-bending fiction, Shakespeare adaptations, and morally messy grief spirals. The premise promised high-stakes tension, claustrophobic suspects, and a brainy locked-room mystery with a speculative twist. That’s a killer elevator pitch.
But here’s the thing: I couldn’t find the pulse of it. Lyrical prose, AI ghosts, immortality formulas, and a plot that veered into mental health deep dives way too fast. By around 18%, I realized I was still waiting to understand where the story wanted to take me. I was lost in the sterile lab lockdown, suspecting everyone from the uncle to the security dad, but no clear path emerged.
The locked-room setup had potential, but instead of tension building like a tightening coil, it felt hazy. I didn’t feel grounded in the mystery or the sci-fi mechanics of the Sisyphus Formula, and without that anchor, my curiosity fizzled. Book club sparked some buzz on the Hamlet nods and bold queerness, yet for me, it mismatched the cozy label hard.
Would I recommend it? If you love literary sci-fi, Shakespeare retellings, and stories that prioritize atmosphere and grief over straightforward plotting, this might absolutely work for you. The concept is bold and ambitious, and I can see it resonating with readers who enjoy experimental structure and slow-burn tension. For me though, this was a total mismatch for my cozy mystery mood. The sci-fi layers and unpredictable locked-room setup left me adrift early, like a blind date where the escape pod never arrives. Not one for my TBR repeats.
🎧 Listened in audio 📢 Narrated by Catherine Ho ⏱ Duration: 10 hours 🏷️ Publisher: Recorded Books Inc. & Solaris 📅 Release Date: September 12, 2023 📖 Read as: Part of Book Club March Reads 🎭 Genre: Cozy Mystery (Queer Sci-Fi Retelling / Locked-Room Thriller)
I went in intrigued. A queer sci-fi Hamlet retelling set inside a locked laboratory with an AI named Horatio? On paper, this is catnip for anyone who loves genre-bending fiction, Shakespeare adaptations, and morally messy grief spirals. The premise promised high-stakes tension, claustrophobic suspects, and a brainy locked-room mystery with a speculative twist. That’s a killer elevator pitch.
But here’s the thing: I couldn’t find the pulse of it. Lyrical prose, AI ghosts, immortality formulas, and a plot that veered into mental health deep dives way too fast. By around 18%, I realized I was still waiting to understand where the story wanted to take me. I was lost in the sterile lab lockdown, suspecting everyone from the uncle to the security dad, but no clear path emerged.
The locked-room setup had potential, but instead of tension building like a tightening coil, it felt hazy. I didn’t feel grounded in the mystery or the sci-fi mechanics of the Sisyphus Formula, and without that anchor, my curiosity fizzled. Book club sparked some buzz on the Hamlet nods and bold queerness, yet for me, it mismatched the cozy label hard.
Would I recommend it? If you love literary sci-fi, Shakespeare retellings, and stories that prioritize atmosphere and grief over straightforward plotting, this might absolutely work for you. The concept is bold and ambitious, and I can see it resonating with readers who enjoy experimental structure and slow-burn tension. For me though, this was a total mismatch for my cozy mystery mood. The sci-fi layers and unpredictable locked-room setup left me adrift early, like a blind date where the escape pod never arrives. Not one for my TBR repeats.