Rivers Solomon

Anger is an energy. A young girl, a slave in the South, is presented wth a moment where she can grasp for freedom, for change, for life. She grabs it with both hands, fiercely and intensely, and the spirit world is shaken. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Tor.com Original

Blood Is Another Word for Hunger

Joycelyn Ghansah

Breathtaking. It was interesting to read about the birthing of darkness turned to light. The vengeance Sully had in her heart, you could feel her reaching out of the darkness but not being able to. I love the rebirth piece at the end; even when you're reborn, even when you want things to be different, it doesn't turn out that way, and you may never find peace. But having someone walk with you through the darkness makes it bearable. I love the relationship between Ziza and Sully; Ziza was the constant that Sully needed and was beautiful to read. 


The birthing part of the story and getting a glimpse of the life everyone had before their rebirth or second chance was fascinating. Also, Sully realizes that she was seeking more from a world that gave her nothing but hate was eye-opening and relatable esp when she spent most of the time not wanting to look at the beauty of the world. (that's my interpretation)

Montgomery Pierce

Rivers Solomon has a way with the short story that I am simultaneously envious of and ravenous for. This story doesn't disappoint; revenge, gore, grappling with cycles of life and death, the concept of rebirth, found family, all hanging somewhere between horror and reality in a place where a girl like Sully is real and the traumatic things that happen to her are equally that and otherworldly. 

If Rivers Solomon ever chose to expand on this story, its world, its characters, you would not find me disappointed.

Sahi K

It’s probably more of a 3.5 but I’m rounding up. 

Another short story I read because it’s nominated for the Hugo. 

This is pretty out of my comfort zone coz it’s so bloody and gory, with quite a bit of violence. I loved the vengeance part of the story because there’s just something satisfying about a slave girl extracting it from her masters. But what happens later with the balance between life and death, and the main character’s hunger for a place where she and her loved ones can feel safe was both disturbing as well as hopeful; and I’m amazed at the author’s ability to evoke so many contrasting emotions in me. 

I’m not sure this will be for everyone, so I don’t want to outright recommend it. But if you’ve read the author’s other Hugo nominated novella The Deep and enjoyed it, you should give this a try as well. It just might surprise you.

Blood Is Another Word for Hunger A Tor.com Original

Reviews