This book isn’t for everyone, with its weird horror, violence of various kinds, a problematic main character, and mysteries that never really get resolved; however, it absolutely kept me interested and engaged, and presented a lot of ideas to consider.
The story just exudes a gothic atmosphere that gets increasingly bizarre in ways that simultaneously attract and repel Rigby and the reader. There’s a slow build of discomfort and the sense that something is just a bit off, slowly increasing in creepiness as Rigby’s curiosity and failings further entrap him in the situation.
This book did not go where I was expecting with the main plot, but I loved the twists and turns that it took. People with the best of intentions can be blind to the harm they’re storing up for the future, and anyone can make promises that end up being derailed by events beyond their control…
Although graphic novels and books sold well overall during the pandemic, with comic shops and book stores closed, discoverability and conversations around new books took a hit. Some amazing work was released without the fanfare it deserved. One of those was a remarkable 20-issue dark portal fantasy, since collected in four volumes. It asked what would happen if a group of teenagers was transported to the world of their table-top roleplaying game – and what would happened if, twenty-five years later, as traumatized, broken adults, they had to go back.
Let’s take a look at DIE.
Anyone who enjoyed the first book should find A Drop of Corruption: An Ana and Din Mystery (Shadow of the Leviathan: Book 2) equally satisfying. I definitely advise against jumping into the series with the sequel, though; start with the first one.
I love the vivid characters in it, the way they face their challenges, the fiercely exuberant explorations of personhood and choice and negotiating relationships, and the sheer joy of life apparent in how Okorafor plays with ideas.
