The Death I Gave Him

I never thought I’d cry over another AI after Jarvis’s “death” in Avengers: Age of Ultron, yet here we are! My love for Horatio knows no bounds, and the best part of his characterization is that Liu made me have sympathy for Hayden (our Hamlet). Typically, I just don’t give a damn about Hamlet. He’s just a whiny boy who can’t make up his mind. In this retelling, Hayden is working on a formula that will “cure” death. And while this might seem like a usual wanting to live forever, there is an actual traumatic event for his fear, which adds depth to the character.

The other characters were also compelling and fascinating. I really loved how much agency and anger Felicia Xia (Ophelia) had in this book. Felicia has her own show more life that is separate from Hayden. When Hayden kills her father in this book, she’s angry and wants revenge, which I love! She ends up not going on a journey of revenge, but the fact that Liu makes her angry and upset and lets her have those emotions. But Felicia is still a competent character in the book and creates a life for herself after the events of the book.

The book itself was quite a unique setup. The first chapter is a Forward that acts like this night in 2047 is a real event, and the author is looking back on this event through the eyes of an academic. What was once a master’s thesis is now a full-length book. The book is a retelling of the night Graham Lichfield was killed, just as it’s a retelling of the famous play Hamlet. The main source is the neuromapper log between Hayden and Horatio, along with an article from Felicia Xia, audio transcripts retrieved from court documents, and other official documents. A fascinating way to tell a fictional story that makes it feel all the more real!

As I was reading, I was curious about the queer aspects of the novel. It took a while before the romance between Hayden and Horatio was coming through, and at first, I wasn’t sure what to think because it wasn’t what I was expecting. However, as I read more, I fell more in love with Horatio and the love between him and Hayden. It was actually quite beautiful to see this man who’s neglected and hurt by both his parents find a friend in Horatio and eventually more. Those end scenes, reading Hayden’s journal, had me bawling! show less

A scifi retelling of [Hamlet] set in the near future in a locked down science lab. Horatio is an AI who's in love with the Hamlet character. This should have been my absolute catnip, but it was just... fine. It simply didn't spark for me, except in the handful of intimate scenes between Horatio and Hayden, which I thought were almost incandescent. Disappointing, because I was so very looking forward to it. The other members of my book club ranged from feeling the same way I did (the other member who reads a lot of SFF and romance) to hating it (the member who reads mostly commercial fic, literary fic, and mysteries).

I adore this book. It has so many elements that I love: a mystery, a love(ish) story, interesting characters, and great writing. I think I can understand why people don't like this or tend to be lukewarm about it, but it was exactly what I was hoping it would be when I picked it up. Especially since I am a fan of queer love stories (though this a contentious topic, I fully agree that it's a queer romance), epistolary novels, and AI main characters. This book is definitely not for everyone, but it was absolutely for me.

Interesting reinterpretation - I question whether it's a retelling - with a clear directive. I'm impressed with the form mostly because I think it works, and that's so rare. I do think the marketing of the book is off the mark, and there's something of a first-novel-messiness about it, but overall it held my interest.

*Thank you to NetGalley for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Actual Rating: 3.5

The thing that immediately grasped my attention upon reading the blurb was the sci-fi contemporary setting — like a realistic dystopian — and that’s exactly what I got.

The Death I Gave Him is marketed as a “locked-room thriller;” it takes place entirely inside a science lab where Hayden Lichfield’s life revolves around one main goal: to live forever. In their lab, he works with his father to perfect a secret chemical called the Sisyphus Formula. When Hayden suddenly stumbles upon the dead body of his father and the camera logs erased one day, his entire life is upended and he now has a new goal: to find and avenge the murderer. With show more the help of a trusty AI named Horatio, Hayden sends the lab into lockdown and starts investigating the only four other people who are in the lab with him: his uncle Charles, lab technician Gabriel Rasmussen, research intern Felicia Xia, and their head of security, Felicia’s father Paul.

I really liked the world that this story took place in, simultaneously wanting to learn more and also being satisfied with how it was both dystopian and almost realistic.

I think this book kind of bounces between being a whodunnit at the start and a suspenseful story of revenge. I think it probably should’ve leaned towards the latter sooner; maybe it’s the fact that this was marketed as a retelling of Hamlet or just the nature of the writing, but the killer was pretty clear and I was more intrigued in the main character’s development and newfound vengeance.

Other than the main character, I don’t think I clicked that much with any of the other characters; even though there’s a small ensemble, I think this is one of those books that focuses very much on a singular perspective as opposed to how books like One Of Us Is Lying were told from one perspective but still gave each character backstory.

The writing style was also really great overall, though I definitely still had my preferences between Hayden’s perspective and the after-the-fact recounting of it by another character.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this but wish I clicked with it and the characters a little more. I think this is probably a good read for anyone who likes sci-fi mystery. show less

Tis honestly was a slog. I studied Hamlet in school and this didn't really remind me all that much of it and I think in some ways suffered from me continuously wondering where the story fell in the original. To cap it all I honestly didn't care who lived or died in the story. It was a messy story of envy and greed and the characters didn't make me want to see them succeed. Interesting concept, I didn't care for the story.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/if-found-return-to-hell-the-death-i-gave-him-by-...

A retelling of Hamlet as a murder in a family-run technology company.