So I just finished reading the Ink Black Heart, the latest book in J.K. Rowling's, or Robert Galbraith's (as she goes by for this series of books) Strike series. I'll admit, this is the only book in this series that I've read, but I do think that I'll backtrack and catch-up at some point. I've already got a pretty long to-read list, but I'll add these onto the end. Partly it's because who-dun-it mysteries is one of my favourite genres, but I guess that says something about this book, right? Also, yes. I am aware of the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling, I don't live under a rock. That being said, I haven't been following too closely - I don't have twitter, and haven't read all of the harmful nonsense that she's come out with - so I don't know to what degree that this book is an offspring of J.K's own experiences, as some reviews that I've seen have suggested. Oh. And spoilers for the Ink Black Heart.
Right off the bat, I liked this book. The middle was a bit slow, but the everything after Robin met with Rachel had me really hooked, probably because that was when everything began to fall into place. And it definitely says something about how quickly I felt invested in the protagonists (Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott), despite having no prior investment in them. I cared about their relationship by the end of the scene at the Ritz. Even characters like Barclay and Midge grew on me really quickly. However, not reading the previous books did mean that there was a lot of stuff that I just really didn't care about, especially the sub-plots revolving around Strike, Charlotte, and Jago Ross. To me, the only part of that plot that I was concerned about was how it meant that the agency was even more overworked than it already was, but yeah. Not a problem with this book though - books in a series should carry over plot threads - but that storyline went pretty far over my head.
Another thing that I liked was actually the in-game chat logs, even though this is something that I've seen quite a few people complain about this. I have no problem with using unconventional forms of storytelling, in fact I quite enjoy the variation, especially in a book as long as The Ink Black Heart. And it's a LONG book. Because we often see the chat logs before the detectives do, it gives us some time to do some sleuthing before the detectives even have the information that they'd need to try. The use of dramatic irony there is great, and I definitely got excited if I figured something out before the detectives did. The anonymous nature of the chat rooms - as enforced by Rule 14 - allows there to be dozens of enigmas, instead of the single "who was the murderer". While Anomie's true identity is easily the most compelling mystery, the identities of Worm28, Hartella, Fiendy1, Moorhouse, and Paperwhite create some pretty fun mini-boss mysteries along the way, and that's just in Drek's Game. There were also the various twitter accounts, and the Pen of Justice, creating other identities to uncover, as well as the other side of it, with the real-life counterparts that we could assign to each of the unknowns. My favourite reveal was - and SERIOUSLY, spoilers - was the Paperwhite = Anomie reveal. Possibly because it genuinely surprised me, and I actually cared. Like, I expected Moorhouse to be one of the main characters that Strike and Robin were investigating, so I felt a little let down that it was just some doctor from Cambridge that we had no investment in. Although this reveal just stands to a. show how dangerous Anomie is, and b. hint towards the Anomie-Paperwhite reveal. But yeah, it was a bit disappointing, considering how Moorhouse was one of the biggest wild-cards in the game.
Then there's the Anomie identity reveal. Gus Upcott. Ok, sure. I didn't feel much about the reveal, honestly, although J.K. does a pretty good job at diverting your attention away from Gus before this. I mean, Strike considers it, but rules it out. Hartella providing a false alibi for Anomie rules him back in, but Strike only seems to put him back in as a bit of an afterthought, with characters such as Preston Pierce taking precedence. And note that I've only read this once. With a book like this one, with a big reveal twist at the end, it really asks for a re-read to pick up on all the tells you missed on a first-pass. I'm probably gonna hold off, though, until I read the rest of the Strike books. Oh, and Gus threatening to rape Robin felt a bit off - I didn't get the impression that any of the attacks were sexually motivated. If anything, it felt like a cheap way to make Gus seem more scary (which was quite unnecessary, considering he was holding a machete and a taser), and to justify why he didn't just instantly stab Robin before the neighbours could intervene.
My biggest question coming out of the book was, honestly, what IS Drek's Game? Funny, really, considering how that's a question asked early on about the version of Drek's Game in the cartoon itself. But as far as I can tell, the fan-made Drek's Game is mostly a chat room, with a few puzzles tacked on for good measure. The way that you can choose which of the characters you control made me wonder whether it's supposed to be a virtual pet game, like Moshi Monsters or something. Although I never made such connections with anyone on Moshi Monsters - much less with moderators or anything. Towards the end of the book, one character calls Club Penguin a social media site, so I do wonder if J.K. Rowling thinks that virtual pet games like that are more akin to something like Discord than they are. Not that it really matters. Anomie and Moorhouse coded the thing themselves, so I guess that it could be anything, but I do wish that there was more detail about the game itself. Although that would have made this marathon book even longer, and might have made it feel rather bloated. Ah, well.
Another thing was that I wasn't overly sure on the relevance of the quotes that start each chapter. I wasn't familiar with any of the sources, except for Grey's Anatomy, and it's not like I'm super invested into that, either. I like medical dramas, but it's a bit too lovey-dovey for my tastes. The quotes might have been to support the Strike-Robin relationship, but after about 10 chapters, I stopped paying the quotes much attention.
I'll also say that I have a physical copy of the book. I know that a lot of the complaints about the book is about how unreadable the kindle version is, but I can't speak to that. Apparently the text in the chat room sections is way too small. And I haven't the faintest how this could possibly translate to an audiobook, especially the chat room sections where there could be up to 3 conversations happening simultaneously. It was hard enough to figure out which order I should read them!
I've seen people simplify this book down to being about "a transphobic character who's doxed online." Is it the commentary on J.K.'s life that people seem to think is? Maybe, to an extent. There are definitely connections, with the murder victim Edie Ledwell being victim to a hate campaign on Twitter. As to whether this character had a transphobic stance? From a single pass of the book, I don't think so, although I might be forgetting something. The beginning of the book feels like a really long time ago. If anything, it felt like J.K. was deliberately avoiding talking about transphobia, for presumably obvious reasons. I know that Edie is directly accused of being ableist and racist (she's accused of basing the character Paperwhite on a black roommate), and there's a line that says something like "she's been accused of every ism and phobia that there is", but as far as I recall, Ledwell isn't explicitly transphobic. Although it would be stupidly on the nose if J.K. was too explicit about it. If anything, the lack of a mention of transphobia is more telling than anything else, considering how the implications of the Ink Black Heart for other minorities is a driving factor in Anomie getting such a following. And themes like that are another thing that might need a re-read. Although I'm not sure how many people ranting about this as a self-insert fanfic have actually read the book. Not that I don't understand that - if you don't want to buy J.K's products on principle, that's entirely justifiable. My personal take is that the £11 I spent on this book (it was half off at my local book store, right after it came out) is hardly going to matter to someone who lives in a castle, so I'm still willing to pay for her works. And I did definitely get £11 worth of enjoyment out of the book, so I don't regret the purchase.
Overall, yeah. Good book. Convinced me to read the others. Although it was a bit long, and the middle dragged a bit, the ending was really compelling. It was nice to see something come from J.K. that wasn't completely awful, but I think that Crimes of Grindelwald and Secrets of Dumbledore had left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe stick to the mystery books, J.K. It's what you're good at.
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