There were rumors about monsters wandering the country. Insect-like creatures that almost looked like humans. They wanted weapons and people who knew how to use ’em.
A boy who can’t die, a professor who refuses to teach, and a hunter out of a job. They’re a trio as disjointed as the world they’ve agreed to cross together. Some work is more important than money.
Val is what some people would call precocious, and others would call a monster. Professor Williams calls him a pain in the ass, and that’s good enough for Val. He doesn’t know what the hunter calls him, but he knows he would like to find out. Humans really are the most interesting things…
Warnings: Violence, Noncon, Incest
Category: M/M
Knives in Your Eyes is a queer, dark fantasy, horror adjacent adventure story about a whole host of things, and is one of the best novels I have read all year. I purchased my print edition via the author’s crowdfunder, but now as the print edition was a limited run it is only available as an ebook on the author’s itch account.
WRITING
The writing in this novel is evocative and poetic. It is highly descriptive, especially of experiences and emotions. So much of the prose is comprised of beautiful turns of phrase that linger in your mind after reading them, sentences that give so much atmosphere to the story that you find yourself contemplating them long after. Its hauntingly beautiful at the same times as it is being dark, disturbing, or violent. It is written in present tense, which isn’t my preferred style to read, and sometimes accidentally lapses into past tense, but this is truly my only criticism. The story concerns a young man named Val, an orphan who discovered early on in his life that he cannot be killed, and heals supernaturally fast. He travels with a mysterious professor and as they travel they encounter strange bug-human hybrid monsters, and try to uncover the secret behind these people’s transformations. It’s a body horror adventure story with a lot of guro undertones and sweeping character arcs. I’d describe it as a Steven Universe but more adult in nature, with some of the most intimate violence you could read.
EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT
At the heart of this book is relationships and personal journeys of growth and healing. It is a book whose plot is most focused on an inward journey rather than an outward one, and it is beautiful. Val is a wonderfully innocent character, one who maintains his innocence even in the face of adversity and violence enacted upon him. And since we see this story entirely through Val’s eyes, his optimism and earnest way of interacting with the world colours how the reader experiences the narrative. The creatures he encounters as well as the enemies and the new friends all have interesting and unique dynamics with him that are interesting to read about, from his familial relationship to the Professor, the romance with the Hunter, to how he interacts with the monsters are all so different and interesting that you can’t help but be invested in how they all develop.
WORLDBUILDING
The world of Knives in Your Eyes is a unique one, that is gradually explored and revealed as the characters travel throughout it. Sort of a high-fantasy, it is set in a world with technological advancements but it is unclear from which era. We learn about the way the culture in this place grew over time, some of its histories, and most importantly the strange immortal creatures and beings that populate it, and the longstanding feuds between them. Its a world you can get lost in, and it leaves enough unanswered to leave you wanting more at the end of it, wondering about some things and filling in more of its blanks yourself. It is also, of course, a queer book and weaves in its themes of sexuality and gender in a way that feels both specific to its world but also heart wrenchingly beautiful for our own. Its utterly compelling and unique and the only fantasy novel I’ve read that is remotely like it.
STEAMINESS
While there are only a few sexual scenes in this book, the entire novel is dripping with a dark kind of sensuality, particularly in the explorations of violence. Val’s curiosity about pain and scarring have a masochistic streak to them, as does his longing for touch and closeness. He is so tactile and intimate with everyone he interacts with that it left me breathless on more than one occasion. The sex, too, has a sadomasochistic bent to it, with some beautiful knife play and humiliation scenes, and it absolutely gave me goosebumps. The action sequences are also incredibly intimate in how they are written, with the violence taking on a sensual quality in descriptions of gore and viscera. I cannot express how stunningly beautiful everything about this book is in it’s raw, often violent, sexuality.
This book was fantastic and I highly recommend everyone to read it. It is a near perfect novel, and one that I will treasure my copy of forever.
Have you read Knives in Your Eyes? Let me know what YOU thought by leaving me a comment!
Roses And Thorns 