Richard's Reviews > Cuckoo

Easily the worst book that I've read so far this year. I read the first half hoping that things would improve, and then continued while reminding myself every time I turned a page that I could just put the silly thing down and walk away. Cuckoo almost definitely would have been at least a little bit better if Felker-Martin had focused on one or two members of their unwieldy cast instead of randomly shifting between more characters than they can efficiently manage. They repeatedly substitute random anecdotes for character development, so that none of the characters really feel consistent.

The plot makes little sense. Apparently alien body snatchers are targeting queer kids because they're vulnerable, but at the same time anyone might be a body snatcher? I'm all for queer youth shooting up possessed cops, but I'd also like it if that made sense to the plot. And years go by but the contagion barely spreads?

At times Felker-Martin leans into gross extravagance, but goes so far over the top that it becomes cosmic horror word salad. I did kind of think those parts were fun to read, but not because they were good.

I often feel mean when I write negative reviews, but Cuckoo is bad. Bad.