I absolutely adored If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, so when I saw that she was publishing this novella, I knew that I had to read it. It's been a number of years since IWWV, and I imagine this is a good way to remind her readers that she is still writing. Comparatively speaking, this slim volume is merely snack size. It is very different from the previous book while still exploring the Dark Academic space which seems to be Rio's forte.
Although billed as horror, I would classify it more as human drama with a dark slant. She explores that fertile question of how much we should trust in scientists and researchers. The same question that we've been exploring since Mary Shelley penned Frankenstein. This is why universities have ethics guidelines and enforce them. There are good reasons for the “red tape" that so many sneer at.
I could have wished for more of a lot of things: more time to develop this odd assemblage of characters, slower development of the mystery, or more nuance in the researchers’ behaviour. Hell,more nuance in everyone's behaviour. Messy endings usually appeal to me, but this ending just seemed unnecessarily abrupt. I want to know what happened to the unfortunate grad student. Unusually, I want to know what happens to the two male characters more than the women. Ordinarily it's the other way around.
So, I am reminded, Ms. Rio, I know you're still out there. Since I dig your Dark Academia playground, I hope you plan to produce more. However, this felt rushed and unfinished so I hope your life is more conducive to concentrated writing in future. You write it and I promise to read it.
No comments:
Post a Comment