abbie_'s Reviews (1.79k)

I’m starting my year off very well, I bloody loved this book. I’m not a massive sci fi person but when it focuses on the human aspect of it, I’m there for it. How High We Go in the Dark is vitally human, an exploration of how we respond to a global pandemic of catastrophic proportions. I loved the progression, so it starts with the virus being discovered in ice, dormant for millions of years, then initial stages, worsening, peak, looking for cures, tailing off, society adjusting, aftermath. It’s beautifully paced, a huge and vibrant cast of characters exploring how humans react to near extinction. It’s so creative, absolutely morbid (rollercoaster euthanasia anyone?). Every chapter offers something completely different, a gorgeous and heartbreaking kaleidoscope of humanity. But it exposes the corrupt side of society too - the way humans will capitalise on anything, even mass death.

Knocked it out of the park, and I can see myself revisiting. 

Absolutely loved this gross little collection of short stories, getting my 2025 reading off to a cracking start! These stories all mostly explore hunger in some form or other - whether it’s literal flesh eating viruses, a greedy sea desperate for sacrifice, a teenage boy in lust, so many varieties of that primal feeling. Through it, Clark takes to task patriarchal beauty standards, men who groom young girls, climate change and more. Some of the stories are darkly funny - or just outright funny, like The Shadow Over Little Chitaly, literally had me cackling. The two sci fi stories weren’t my favourites but they still hooked me - once all the weird shit started happening. Just an overall solid, creepy, darkly delightful collection!

Apart from the narrator’s questionably over the too French accent, I really loved this gothic little book, filled with jelly and goop and all manner of nasty little things dressed up as wellness. It also explores the problematic way white people love to fetishise people of colour from ‘exotic’ backgrounds - even when they’re related!! The beauty industry is held to account, not to mention the insane standards women are held to when it comes to looking youthful and beautiful. It gets very trippy, and I did find some of the parts with Tom Cruise (just roll with it) a bit repetitive. But overall, very much enjoyed!

I listened to 25 minutes of this while walking Mia this morning and I already know it's not for me. Abby is awful and the narrator's voice isn't for me. I just wanted some cute fluff for the last days of the year. 😭

This was a very moving collection of Arab writers exploring the intersection of their racial and sexual identities. As with most anthologies, some pieces were stronger than others. My main issue was not with the quality of writing but with the length - sometimes it felt like being rushed to the next piece, without allowing the author full space to explore what needed to be explored. 

Overall, it’s gorgeous and achingly sad in parts. But where there was one queer person disowned by their family for who they are, there was another finding space with a partner to discover their true selves. Though it is undeniable that a lot of these pieces are very sad. 

Favourites were An August, A September and My Mother, Unheld Conversations, Tweets to a Queer Arab Poet and Trophy Hunters, White Saviours and Grindr. 

I was underwhelmed by this queer cult classic. Too much pontificating, not enough lesbian vampires. 

I needed a book for the ‘Mushrooms!’ prompt for Queer Your Year 2024,  spotted this one on the prompt page and promptly fell in love with the cover. I think the cover is a bit more interesting than the story itself, but I didn’t mind it - just not particularly memorable until the last few pages. I really liked the descriptions of Rita’s art. 

I think this is probably a book that makes more of an impact in print. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the audio, I very much did, but I can tell it would have been much more memorable for me had I read it with my eyes. It’s desperately bleak, set in a near future where most animals have gone extinct or are near extinction. It follows one woman as she in turn follows the last group of Arctic terns on their migration. It’s quiet and melancholy, though the group of characters aboard the fishing boat sparkle with life. 

For the most part, Barrie Kreinik does an excellent job with the vast array of accents - very nice to listen to. 

I actually bought this book for my girlfriend as she’s a Lucy Spraggan fan, whereas her music is not my taste. But for TSG’s Genre challenge I needed a book about a musician and I wanted the bonus challenge of making all (or most) of my genre challenge picks queer, so I borrowed it! Lucy’s story is heartbreaking (tw for sexual assault) and inspiring, and you definitely don’t need to be a fan of her music to enjoy it. It gives an eye opening look into the world behind reality TV - the X Factor in this case - and how media at large fails people who are sexually assaulted.

I also appreciated Lucy’s portrayal of her sexuality - she came out as a lesbian without fanfare and to no one’s surprise quite young. She’s forthright about her infidelity, and I liked her explanation to those ignorant straight people who always whinge about why we even need a pride month. 

I didn’t think the letters to her younger self at the end of each chapter which basically just repeated what she’d said in the chapter added much value. 

Equal parts funny and heartbreaking. 

Unfortunately the majority of these stories have slipped my mind completely since finishing it in October and writing this review in December. However, I did make notes on three stories that stood out to me and that did jog my memory - a lot of these stories are of queer Indian men, living both in India and in America, but there is little intolerance which is always nice. My favourite story was one of a queer couple on holiday in India being shown around by a queer man, though they don’t realise it. It showcases the courage it takes to live as a queer person where it’s (or was, at the time, this was published in 2010) illegal.

Not a shining collection but not mad I picked it up either, as it’s always worth it to me to read about queer people of colour living a life without outright violence.