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eggcatsreads 's review for:
Midnight Riot
by Ben Aaronovitch
It's honestly kind of impressive to read a book that would be LESS sexist if it had no women characters in it at all.
This book started off so well. So well! The first few pages had me laughing out loud and I thought it was going to be great throughout. Until the main character meets the first woman in the book, and it only gets worse from there.
Every woman in this book is ONLY described by how sexually attractive the main thinks she is, how horny that makes him, and whether or not he thinks he can coerce her into bed with him. That's it.
The two main plots aren't connected at ALL, AND they're boring. I understand that this is a series but they could have been relevant OR interesting, at least.
The main character is the least likable person ever, AND he's super into the whole Madonna/Whore complex as he is CONVINCED every single woman wants to have sex with him or is flirting with him or whatever. If she's not flirting with him it's because she's a lesbian (and described so horribly) so let's add some lesbophobia and homophobia to the mix that made this book unpleasant to read.
Not to mention the thinly veiled racism throughout, and NO not intentional because the main character is mixed race. Just unintentional racist descriptions, culminating in the older wizard man saying that the random teeth vagina plot from "Teeth" was "probably from Chinatown or something." Wow.
AND THEN THE BOOK RANDOMLY ENDS WITH THE PLOT FROM THAT MOVIE "TEETH" AND THEY COULDN'T RESIST ADDING SOME ANTI-ASIAN RACISM TO THE MIX RIGHT BEFORE THE BOOK ENDS. Great.
I don't think I've ever been more disappointed in a book that had such a PHENOMENAL beginning and awesome concept. Unfortunately men writing women is a known thing and I should have stuck to Garth Nix for women characters that aren't only there to get the main character's dick hard. Legitimately do not understand the 5 star reviews from women. Please, have an ounce of a standard. And it's kind of concerning none of the 5 star reviews from men even noticed or mentioned the blatant misogyny in this book.
This book started off so well. So well! The first few pages had me laughing out loud and I thought it was going to be great throughout. Until the main character meets the first woman in the book, and it only gets worse from there.
Every woman in this book is ONLY described by how sexually attractive the main thinks she is, how horny that makes him, and whether or not he thinks he can coerce her into bed with him. That's it.
The two main plots aren't connected at ALL, AND they're boring. I understand that this is a series but they could have been relevant OR interesting, at least.
The main character is the least likable person ever, AND he's super into the whole Madonna/Whore complex as he is CONVINCED every single woman wants to have sex with him or is flirting with him or whatever. If she's not flirting with him it's because she's a lesbian (and described so horribly) so let's add some lesbophobia and homophobia to the mix that made this book unpleasant to read.
Not to mention the thinly veiled racism throughout, and NO not intentional because the main character is mixed race. Just unintentional racist descriptions, culminating in the older wizard man saying that the random teeth vagina plot from "Teeth" was "probably from Chinatown or something." Wow.
AND THEN THE BOOK RANDOMLY ENDS WITH THE PLOT FROM THAT MOVIE "TEETH" AND THEY COULDN'T RESIST ADDING SOME ANTI-ASIAN RACISM TO THE MIX RIGHT BEFORE THE BOOK ENDS. Great.
I don't think I've ever been more disappointed in a book that had such a PHENOMENAL beginning and awesome concept. Unfortunately men writing women is a known thing and I should have stuck to Garth Nix for women characters that aren't only there to get the main character's dick hard. Legitimately do not understand the 5 star reviews from women. Please, have an ounce of a standard. And it's kind of concerning none of the 5 star reviews from men even noticed or mentioned the blatant misogyny in this book.