graveyardpansy's reviews
555 reviews

3.5 - not my favourite horror I've ever read.
I've heard a lot about how utterly disgusting this book is, and that's very true, but that's also its strongest point. The best thing about The Troop is how visceral and bloody the horror often is, while simultaneously being psychological and relatively rooted in the real world. Beyond the horror, though, I don't think this is an incredibly good book? The characters aren't very likable, which I suppose makes sense because they're mostly 14-y/o boys. The plot is revealed from practically the beginning, so the twists that do exist are presented pretty flatly, and I didn't care about them. Presenting a plot asynchronously, where the reader knows what's going to happen before it does, is tricky, but can be wonderful when done right. Unfortunately, the way Cutter intersperses interviews and court documents removes a lot of the potential suspense.

Spoiler

I would've been even more horrified about the worm's results if they weren't so obviously revealed at the very beginning, in detail, you know? I wasn't shocked or even disappointed when everyone but one character died; you're told that'll happen from really early on in the book.

The writing style is maybe slightly better than average, but nothing to write home about. Overall, not bad, especially if you're just looking for gross-out horror, but don't expect enthralling plot twists, suspense, or characters that you'll latch on to.

4.5 stars - the writing is genuinely beautiful, to the point where I'm super impressed that this is a debut novel. I haven't read a book that uses words that I don't know in a LONG time. The concepts touched on and setting/mood remind me a lot of both [b:Nevada|17313660|Nevada|Imogen Binnie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1359770508l/17313660._SY75_.jpg|21399644] and [b:Luster|51541496|Luster|Raven Leilani|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568668703l/51541496._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71146734]. Nevada I've seen it compared to (because every ownvoices trans book is compared at some point), which makes sense. Both have a notable lack of strict or obvious plot, and both explore complex relationships and themes without a cisgender audience particularly in mind. The writing in Detransition, Baby is definitely more up my alley, but both are good! Luster has similar themes and a more literary style than Nevada, which is why I see ties there as well. Regardless, Detransition, Baby is remarkable in its own right as well.

The plot, or I guess relative lack thereof, lets you get to know the characters really well, which I loved. Even the side characters were so clear to me, and by the end of the book, the three MCs felt like people I knew. The back-and-forth time skips were handled gracefully and were pretty easy for me to keep track of. They were occasionally too sudden of a tone shift for my taste, but every aspect of a lit fic novel isn't gonna be everyone's favourite.

The depth and thought and care put into every theme of this book - motherhood, the commodification of queerness, transition and detransition, family, sex, community - was so clear. Doing this as a buddy-read (w/ a trans person) made it all the more enjoyable. The things explored are complex and are jumped into without apology (and oftentimes without explanation.) While it was great for me and the level of nuance was exactly what I desired, I definitely don't think this book is for everyone, and cis people should have to pass an entrance exam.

My only real hesitation is that there was relatively frequent comparisons between the plight of trans people and that of POC, which can be a difficult thing to navigate. Comparing oppressions, even when relevant, isn't always productive in the way it's meant to be. AFAIK Peters is white (?), so it struck me as a bit odd that she leaned on that angle as much as she did.

3.5, some hits, some misses, but overall I'm glad this book exists. the tone of each peace varies a lot, which can be a bit of a roller coaster, but there are some really wonderful essays/stories in here, including people I didn't even know were from NC.

3.5 leaning towards 4 — this was better than I thought it’d be!! very gothic energy, atmospheric, slow suspense-building, incredibly bisexual implications. the ending has just the right mix of darkness and ambiguity. it’s a fun psychological take on vampirism that maybe vamp fans that hate blood would prefer, if those exist? I don’t think I prefer this to your classic, cunning, sexy bloodsucker, but it was still eerie and a good time. I do think the characters were a little weak and I wish the setting had been a stronger component, but overall I enjoyed this. it’s short, gothic, homoerotic, and has some really pretty writing. tbh this one’s biggest weakness is that it was written by a nazi.

it’s difficult to rate/review anthologies bc of the nature of them. but this is pretty hit or miss — some essays I really enjoyed and made me think, while others made me deeply uncomfortable (for example, the “not-straight heterosexual cisgender woman” using the t-slur...). Some of the pieces seemed like repetition of things that’re very basic to anarcha-queer politics, while some present underrepresented ideas that I loved. I really liked the discussions of BDSM & kink as says to view and play with larger power dynamics, and I definitely liked the essay including disability as well. however, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be comfortable with the notion of “queering heterosexuality,” and i think that for now at least, cishets need to learn to stay in their place when it comes to queer politics.

4.5 stars - This is a really lovely book trying to help fill a much-needed niche about asexuality, and it's a wonderful start. I'm beyond happy to see nuanced conversations about asexuality, what ace relationships can look like, and the future of ace awareness and queer lib. I especially loved the integration of feminist philosophy ideas, as well as discussions on the complexity of language; even I learned some new things, and I've known I'm demisexual for over five years. (minus the 0.5 stars because I do wish the bits surrounding sex-negative feminism had a bit more nuance, the book's feminism as a whole seems to be pretty sex-neutral (which is where I stand as well) but presenting ideas from sex-neg feminism without any disclaimer or further discussion was a bit odd to me. at the same time, MacKinnon is simply everywhere.) I'd recommend this to anyone, especially if you're ace/questioning if you're ace/involved in a relationship with someone who's ace!