#thedeathigavehim

[nerdynatreads]

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book review || The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu

y’all!!! 💀 I’m definitely going to watch out for more from Liu, this was a fantastic debut novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Death I Gave Him in exchange for an honest review. This cover is eye-catching, but selling the story of Hamlet as a locked-door queer, sci-fi, murder mystery was what made me request it and damn, was I right that I’d enjoy it. Nearly immediately I was sucked into the story. The footnotes and introductions show where each chapter’s information comes from and all add to the puzzle being put together in such a clever way. Liu’s writing style for each character is incredibly well done, as they each feel different and somehow so true to the voice I’d imagine from the characters. A (not super, if you know Hamlet) surprising twist takes place near the halfway point, but what had me most engaged was watching the characters’ reactions and reading their thoughts as they experience another shock. The same happened with a reveal that took place right before the climax. And both bring up something I loved in this book— the writing. Liu’s writing is so phenomenally matched with the story. It rides the line between scientific and sterile to hauntingly emotional. They continuously make callbacks to the original story but also weave in the many themes perfectly. You gotta pick this up, especially if you like Hamlet.

4 / 5 stars

[aberfaeth]

maybe hozier didnt mean to write who we are about hayden and horatio thedeathigavehim but unfortunately it seems like he was possessed by the spirit of em x liu because oh mygod