Review: Ravenous Mother - A Healer
My review of the first book in the Ravenous Mother biopunk series. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book pulls no punches
I was delightfully horrified in the first scene, a feeling that was repeated several times across the story. Yet this isn't a horror novel, it's about people living and embracing the dystopian world in which they live. The world is fascinating, mad in design yet quite detailed.
The antagonist, Khulekani, is extremely competant in his field. Confident to the point of arrogance, compassion doesn't appear to be a word in his vocabulary. He is driven by his quest for knowledge, which blinds him in subtle but meaningful ways. At times I wanted to root for him, only for him to do something reprehensible that made me despise him. Nevertheless, he was engaging to follow. I would love to read more about him.
One thing I noted is that all the people around him, regardless of their statements about compassion, were for the most part self serving and capable of much worse. This caught me by surprise in the third part of the book, in a shocker of a scene that I really enjoyed.
From the very start to the end, every scene has its place. This makes reading the book a thrill, as there's no fluff. Descriptions are full of detail yet don't get in the way of the story. The world is unique and different, but not so much that it got in the way of the storytelling.
If there's a flaw I can point out, there's one scene where he is talking to a father and son where the mood of the relationship seems a little off. That said, the scene is from Khulekani's point of view, so it might be tied to his misreading of social cues.
In summary, this is a fascinating and excellent read in the grimdark genre. I look forward to more from the author.