An Vo
The audiobook edition of Ring Shout is absolutely amazing. The story follows a group of black women, championed by Maryse, hunting down the KKK in the 1920s, only to discover that some of them aren't even human. It turns out their immense hatred has created a gateway to transform them into something otherworldly and insidious.
This book discusses racism, oppression, but also hate, and the cycle of hate. I had moments when I caught myself thinking, “Is this somehow an excuse for one of the worst crimes against humanity?” I don't think it is after all. At the end of the day, the worst monster is hate, which the KKK was filled with, to an unfathomable degree that led to them committing the crimes they did. The ending with Maryse's choices and growth really brings that idea home.
One word I can use to describe this book would be “FUN”, but unfortunately, it kinda ends there. The premise is super intriguing: a ship and her companion medical bay learn to reach beyond their usual programming to save the group of ragtag passengers full of monsters that they grew to love. However, the main part of the plot only happens more than halfway through the book's length. The pacing was really doing this plot an even worse disservice, as it makes the storylines feel disjointed and fragmented.
More importantly, the blurb was trying to sell me Dracula's murderous rampage in space—but the book only delivered about 50 pages of it, leaving me wanting so much more. I also wish there were more world-building for this future, where intergalactic travel is as accessible as economy class, or more to the actual relationship between Demeter-Steward and Agnes-Wilhelmina, instead of the underdeveloped romance plot we got.
I feel like this book is written (subconsciously) to be a TV show, as the storytelling just doesn't fit the book format very well. Though, still pick this up if you want to give cozy sci-fi a try! Maybe you'll love it better than I did.
I don't think this book is necessarily for everyone, but it definitely is for me. I loved this book so much that I don't think I have enough words to describe how it made me feel. The character work is top-notch: Sen and Lee are filled with trauma, raw emotion, and a lot of self-delusion. I feel deeply for Lee, but I want to hold Sen so tight, my poor girl. After reading this and Bat Eater, I know for sure now I will read every book Kylie Lee Baker writes.
This one hurts. I wanted to love this book so much because the premise is great, the dynamics between some characters are quite fun to read, and the French gothic setting was done very well. However, I cannot stand the way this book treats EVERY single female character. Not a single female character was portrayed in a positive light. I also draw the line at Joan of Arc, in this setting, being actually possessed (which is what she was accused of in real life, which led to her demise). Also, I didn't like how the rebellion that led to the French Revolution was concluded to be due to demonic contaminated water in Gévaudan that turned the locals violent...
Though I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the audiobook narrators, they did an amazing job, and it was a delight to listen to them. Considering this is a debut, I hope Sullivan's later works take into account the issues with this one.
I guess I was just expecting the book to be something it's not. All the action scenes are boring to me, partially because of the clunky writing style. I wish there were more exploration into the actually-quite-dark theme of this book. Behind all the jokes and fluffs, Dungeon Crawler Carl is just too shallow for a book with great potential.
It is torture reading this book, in a good way. It's heart wrenching with almost no way out for all the character. The horror of the book is that we can't know the magical realism actually happened or it was just a myth they told themselves to survive their worst nightmares. I love this book so much!
This is by no mean a bad read, it was just a very disappointing sequel to The Will of The Many. The two new worlds' stories and characters feel flimsy and quite frankly boring as they are nothing more but very obvious background for Vis's discovery. What makes TWOTM so good was 1. Engaing plot with engaging casts and constant action, 2. The consistent theme of oppression and inequality. What makes TWOTM slightly less good was 1. Vis is capable of literally anything thrown his way. TSOTF kept very little of the good thing from its processor and amplified the bad thing while being extremely ambitious with “world building” that it got boring. All in all, disappointing.
This is one of those books that the author was so desperate to deliver the big twist that they botched the charactes/ plot/ any sense of logic really. Also, the twist was soooooooo obvious. Of course this super “dedicated” detective turned psychotherapist guy was involved in this crime. Why else would he go through such unprofessional length for this?
More like a study in boring. There is zero plot point that was properly developed, everything is half-baked, including the romance. FMC likes MMC because he is kind, genuine, and not a creep; MMC likes her because she is racist towards him??? Who knows. The ending (or twist) is laid out in the most boring way possible ie. another character explaining the ENTIRE story to the MCs. If I haven't listened to the audiobook, I would have DNFed it.
