Reviews and Comments

I struggled with the middle chapters in this book. It's almost as if the author (and she admits as much in some places) is still struggling with her own internalized -isms and using the book to work through them. Some choices in language and examples reveal unexamined biases, and put me off from the reading, and there are too many names/examples throughout the book for me to keep track of. The end chapters of the book redeem themselves though, talking much more openly and expressively about challenging relationship norms, showing ways in which others have done that challenging, and ending on really uplifting examples and language for both those coming to terms with their own ace identity or exploring and learning about the community.

The great style of writing doesn't save the fact that this book focuses its forward movement solely on trauma theater. Content warning for very graphic sexual assault and child abuse scenes. I had to put it down multiple times for my own mental health and barely made it through the end. Not quite redemptive at the end either, at least not in a way that felt satisfying.

Pratchett has a great sense of wit and humor and it comes through in this piece. Great for a first foray into the DiscWorld. I appreciated the ending on this one more than I did on the other two I've read, and both my partner and I had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments while reading

I appreciate Pratchett's commitment to the absurd, though I thought the Deus Ex ending was a bit heavy-handed and could've used more nuance and gravitas. Still, it's worth the read, even if you haven't delved too much into the Discworld series

Great piece of work. The first one of Pratchett's I happen to read. The beginning was a little difficult for me given all the characters introduced but it picks up and was actually really engaging and incredibly relevant to issues of mis/disinformation today