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A review by icanreadish
All Nights Die Young by Mario Luxxor
1.0
i'm going to be so real - i requested this book for the vibes of the cover art alone. and have been DUPED IT'S AI ALSKDFJAFDLK fucking hell -.5 stars for that
it's awkward when i receive and advanced copy of something and have to lug myself along the finish line, half-paying attention to what's on the page just because i want it to be done.
disappointingly, this book was not for me. nearly incoherent scenes, disjointed narrative, and rushed plot points left me like ?????? for most of the reading time. i didn't find the writing style enriching or particularly captivating, and never got that #vibe feeling promised in the blurb and cover art. promised a neon-soaked venture into heartbreak and loss around the gay/queer bdsm scene, what we get is a play by play of our character's every move, thought, dialogue and backstory mingled in with scenes of sexual assault and drug use. (there's even a scene where a character has changed their name, but two go back and forth like derrick? no, dante! derrick? dante! for like, a whole page good grief it wasnt even meant to be funny it didn't have a point) which - fine. like, that can work and be a heartbreaking story itself. bad things happen and bad things should happen in literature.
i would be more forgiving if i enjoyed the writing style, or if i cared for the characters. but a backstory and a synopsis of a bad childhood doesn't necessarily make me want to know what happens to someone in the end, it doesn't make them engaging main characters. and the writing style.... we need some work and help. there's an effort here, which! love and applaud, but this gives first draft so hard and we needed at least two more between there and publication.
also definitely some reflection needed on the way women are depicted. it's so r/menwritingwomen take this excerpt:
it's awkward when i receive and advanced copy of something and have to lug myself along the finish line, half-paying attention to what's on the page just because i want it to be done.
disappointingly, this book was not for me. nearly incoherent scenes, disjointed narrative, and rushed plot points left me like ?????? for most of the reading time. i didn't find the writing style enriching or particularly captivating, and never got that #vibe feeling promised in the blurb and cover art. promised a neon-soaked venture into heartbreak and loss around the gay/queer bdsm scene, what we get is a play by play of our character's every move, thought, dialogue and backstory mingled in with scenes of sexual assault and drug use. (there's even a scene where a character has changed their name, but two go back and forth like derrick? no, dante! derrick? dante! for like, a whole page good grief it wasnt even meant to be funny it didn't have a point) which - fine. like, that can work and be a heartbreaking story itself. bad things happen and bad things should happen in literature.
i would be more forgiving if i enjoyed the writing style, or if i cared for the characters. but a backstory and a synopsis of a bad childhood doesn't necessarily make me want to know what happens to someone in the end, it doesn't make them engaging main characters. and the writing style.... we need some work and help. there's an effort here, which! love and applaud, but this gives first draft so hard and we needed at least two more between there and publication.
also definitely some reflection needed on the way women are depicted. it's so r/menwritingwomen take this excerpt:
Susan Loft was 48 years old, and in any ordinary mirror, she'd appear over 50. But in her own mirror, she managed to look barely 40, and since the forties are the new thirties, she would dress in form fitting attire, showcasing her legs and décolletage. In the bygone era when she was considered a knockout, her breasts had possessed a captivating beauty, but over time, the grasping hands of many men had gradually chipped away at their allure, leaving them now as a simple functional assets.
??????????? literally what.
i'm hoping that as a ~filmmaker, the author continues to create, draft, create some more, etc. etc. maybe write with a playlist so we get a mood that's more than sadvaguelyhornyboi vibes. there's a ghost of an interesting story here and a necessary voice within queer literature for the representation of this kind of nightmare, but this is a premature publication needing more attention and care.
Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.