Original and wholly entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where sci-fi and thrillers are popular.

The premise of this is “*Hamlet* re-imagined as a science-fiction locked-room thriller,” and I gotta say it really works.

Hayden Lichfield is a researcher working at Elsinore Labs, headed by his father. His uncle manages the business side of things, and his ex-girlfriend Felicia is an intern there (and the daughter of the head of security). The laboratory mainframe is a sentient AI, whom Hayden has named Horatio.

For spoiler purposes, I’m going to assume everyone is broadly familiar with the plot of the original *Hamlet*.

Unsurprisingly, the book opens with Hayden’s father being found dead. This triggers Horatio to show Hayden a video his father had made, warning him that people were after their research, he was probably killed over it, and asking Hayden to pay them back in kind. Their research is into revitalizing dead tissue and mapping brain patterns, with the goal of transcending death. Hayden tries to use this on his very dead father; it works enough for Hayden’s father to gasp out his brother’s name, and no more.

Complicating matters: on finding his brother’s body, Hayden’s uncle initiated a lockdown. No one is entering or leaving Elsinore Labs, and no contact with the outside can get through.

Because we know perfectly well who did it, this doesn’t have the same kind of locked-room thriller tension as something like Agatha Christie’s *And Then There Were None*. Nevertheless, this has its own kind of tension, that very definitely ratchets up as the events of the book (which take place over a single night) come to a head.

The book shifts between three POVs: Hayden and Horatio, contemporarily, and excerpts from Felicia’s memoirs of the night. Hayden’s and Felicia’s extremely complicated feelings towards each other are central, and get exponentially more complicated as the night goes on and expected events happen.

There are two areas where the science-fiction-ization of *Hamlet* really shines. One is Horatio. The character always served as a sort of narrator more than anything else; having him be an AI with cameras all over Elsinore Labs works wonderfully. The other is Hayden and his father’s research. The fascination with death is one of the central themes of Shakespeare’s play, and having Hamlet be in a position to maybe actually *overcome* death is a great spin on the theme.

It’s a very dense book. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of existential angst, and a lot of messy romance drama between Hayden and Felicia. But as a retelling of *Hamlet*, it’s very solid. I don’t know how much appeal it would have if you’re not a fan of the original, but speaking as one, I thought it was quite well done.

While not knowing much about this book going into it, minus it being a sci-fi/thriller-esque book, I thought it was very well written and articulated.

Hayden’s dad is found murdered in their lab... with, of course, the video footage that could have caught it long erased.

Now with it being on lockdown, Hayden is trapped with 4 people and one of which of them is the killer.

This loosely follows Shakespeare’s Hamlet's main themes as well as other things in the book, that I won’t spoil. 😉

I also enjoyed the different aspects of every single one of the characters, but especially Hayden.

Wow, this is a debut? Em X. Liu is someone I will definitely look out for in the future!

After a quick catchup on Hamlet as I read it 15 years ago I started into this science-fiction adaptation and was gripped from the first sentences. As the story unfolds it was interesting how Liu uses the beats of the original to tell a unique and queer'd up story that is graphically gory and intense in its feelings of the characters.

What Liu makes out of the original is fascinating. It seems like they took everything, used it as clay and nourished it with water of 2023, intersectional feminism, mental health awareness, morally diverse figures, queerness and so much more to form a beautiful crafted book that hits you in the right spots.

I really loved how Liu made even the AI so tangible and advanced in every aspect. Playing with the concept of a not super AI (because Horatio hadn't had access to the whole floor plan) that is emotionally entangled with our main character is great and explores what is possible.

I also loved the mix of in-character and reporting style of the narrator that tries to explore an event that had a big impact on the world and still is so human in its single parts.

I can't wait for the next book Liu will be coming up with and until then I will buy myself a copy of this one and reread it!

What if Ophelia slayed? What if Shakespeare stretched his work by adding a gratuitous hand job?
It didn't work for me as a retelling and it interacted with the source too closely to work as a stand alone. If you tell the same story again there has to be a point to it and maybe I missed it.

Thank you NetGalley and Rebellion for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

They were right to describe this as a modern-day Hamlet. The characters had great depth, with their own stories behind they’re behaviours that were told along the way. I also really liked the structure of the chapters and the way it was written. The plot followed a locked in a room murder mystery with a sprinkle of AI, along with each character having no idea who could be capable.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I tried, okay? I really did. I made it to 60%.

But I was just. so. BORED!

I was excited for this because I adored Liu’s debut novella, If Found Return to Hell, and the early reviews for Death I Gave Him were really promising. But I feel like I read a different book than those reviewers did; that, or I’m just not intellectual enough to appreciate what I was reading. I’m usually a mega-fan of introspection, and this book is 99% introspection, but – it’s introspection in a very grim situation where we’re dealing with a lot of people who are grieving and/or clinically depressed and/or paranoid (in fairness, usually paranoid for very good reasons). I loved the relationship I saw developing between Hayden (Hamlet) and the AI (Horatio) that ran the lab they were all in – I’m pretty sure it was going in a romantic direction, and I was damn invested in that. But not enough to put up with the rest of it.

(If I’m honest, I’m also not sure it was super healthy for me to be that deeply in the mind of someone that depressed – even though I’m mostly past the point Hayden’s at, it felt somewhat triggering. Which just means that Liu is very, very good at writing believable messed-up people, but that might have been part of the reason I wasn’t enjoying myself.)

"The Death I Gave Him" by Em X. Liu is a riveting and emotionally charged exploration of loss, guilt, and the consequences of our actions. Liu's storytelling is poignant, creating a haunting atmosphere as the characters grapple with their pasts. The novel is a thought-provoking examination of the human psyche and the complex interplay of grief and redemption. This is a profound and compelling read.

This book is a queer sci fi/murder mystery retelling of Hamlet and it was amazing.
I've never read Hamlet in Shakespeare so I was worried I wouldn't understand the story but it was actually very easy to understand and it sucked me in so quickly. The characters were all flawed and so very human I couldnt help but be endeared by them.
I did have to pause and pace around every couple of chapters so reading this took a really long time aha.
This was an lyrical masterpiece, i loved the writing so so much and I definitely will be reading anything this author writes in the future. Thank you for the eARC

I really wanted to like this book more than I did - I love sci-fi, mysteries and Shakespearean retellings. However I found The Death I Gave Him overly dense. I do think I'll enjoy it more on rereading it though and I'm open to reading more from Em X Liu in the future.

I would first and foremost like to thank NetGalley for this e-ARC. All opinions remain my own.

The idea of Hamlet as a locked-door thriller was genius. I enjoyed having the perspective of so many different characters including the AI, Horatio. I found the perspectives a bit confusing at times, but it could have just been the formatting of the ARC copy. I do want to mention that Rassmussen was a confusing character, I wish they had explained him better because I kept confusing him with Felicia's father and Hayden's uncle. However, I found that it being labeled as queer threw me off a bit as it was kind of at the end of the novel.

The science behind it was fascinating and I loved how we saw the application of the Sisyphus formula on different characters. I found it hard to connect to the story at times, but I admit it really may be how unfamiliar I am with Science Fiction as a genre.

It was incredibly compelling and well-written, I am looking forward to reading more from this author for sure.

Hayden Litchfield finds hiss father dead in the clinic where they were trying to come up with a cure for death the logs from the video cameras were erased and so Hayden must find the killer. I have tried multiple times to read this book I have read hamlet and get the similarity but for some reason I just could not get into this book and although I have seen that a lot of people like and even love it I just did not. I do want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Going in, I knew that this is a locked room sci fi Hamlet retelling. An intimidating and absolute mouthful of a description. That said, I found this novel to be shocking, dark, quiet, and insidiously, masterfully touching.
It is told through recollection and transcripts. The main event has already happened, our characters on lockdown in the lab building where they work after a murder, and we are piecing together the story with the rest of the outside world after the fact. This device is very well done. It serves to keep us curious and a little on edge that we might miss something important. It is inherently othering to the audience, setting us up on the outside of the action, but is so useful as a tool and well wielded. It exposes perspective and unveils character in a sneaky, delightful way, giving us little crumbs to collect. Cool and difficult to do when everyone knows the story it is based on. The piecemeal nature of it also reflects both the lies told by the characters that hide parts of the story from one another and the experience of the building A.I., Horatio, who is shut out of certain rooms and certain characters' psyches. No one can see the whole story, not even us. Risks on form are so satisfying when they're successful.
The plot elements of murder, motive, and betrayal are fascinating, of course, but the real gems at the heart of this book are softer. There is an exploration of human-A.I. relationship, between Hayden and Horatio, that is surprisingly touching, overwhelmingly human. Their relationship hit me sideways out of my seat, and I don't think I've ever read a more interesting and fresh example of human/A.I. interaction. Incredible. Also, Hayden's internal conflict over suicidality is profoundly moving. His obsession and drive for immortality is in such stark opposition to his recurrent want to hurt himself, to drift away. He's complex and contradictory the way people are often complex and contradictory. But his obsession makes more sense somehow in light of his more intrusive and destructive thoughts. His struggle rings true and we both identify with him and see him as a person in trouble.
All in all, so fascinating. Well done.

The blurb of this book immediately grabbed my attention and I was intrigued by the locked-in murder mystery and science aspects and how they’d be included in the story.

I enjoyed the lyrical writing style for the most part, as well as the interactions of these flawed and raw characters, especially Hayden, Felicia and Horatio. Felicia’s sections and the depth of character and agency conveyed were a highlight. There were a lot of scientific-based descriptions (which I loved) that fit in perfectly with the story, and the exploration of mortality and connection (whether human to human or human to AI) made for a compelling read.

However, I occasionally felt that the setting lacked in depth of visuals and also didn’t quite provide that locked-in claustrophobia that I was expecting because sometimes the prose felt too expansive and overly written to allow for that experience. Sometimes I also couldn’t understand the reasoning behind certain decisions and those actions then lost some of the emotional resonance.

Overall, I thought this novel was an engaging read. Thanks to Rebellion and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

"The Death I Gave Him" is a queer, scifi-ish "Hamlet" retelling, which seeks to reconstruct (retelling of a retelling, nice!) what happened in the laboratory after Hayden (Hamlet) finds his father's corpse. If you know "Hamlet" well, as I do, you expect certain plot twists but you can never be sure if or how the story will unfold. The novel also plays, partly, into the found fragment trope and overall I was quite entertaining. The entire book is very violent and dark and none of the characters are likeable at all. I was very entertained by the book and found it very enjoyable. Especially Horatio was fascinating but I have to admit that some things did not work for me: a) The scientist's son who has no real qualifications but somehow became a prodigy? b) The ending which left some questions open c) The World Building which was either unexplained or just plopped in (apart from the fancy research facility) and also b) Horatio in connection to world building.

But I enjoyed this, so 4 stars

I loved the premise of this story and was excited to see where this was going. It was just alright. It didn’t offer anything too exciting or extra intrigue. I did enjoy it. My biggest issue was that the characters weren’t likable at all. I don’t really have much knowledge on Hamlet but these characters were just awful.

Billed as an AI locked room murders mystery retelling of Hamlet - the scaffolding of the play is cleverly used.

What makes us alive? What powers do ghosts (literal reanimated characters) or sentient AIs hold over memories?

I will bestow him, and will answer well
The death I gave him. So, again, good night.

Who murdered Hayden's father - the brilliant scientist whose new formula will prevent death?

I must be cruel, only to be kind:
Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.

Who is the villain? Uncle Charles ? Hayden himself?

The best aspects of this retelling are the characters Felicia, given way more agency here than as Ophelia, and Horatio, the AI who helps Hayden, or does he?

Madness and betrayal and violence. Intellectual Property and morality. Elsinore, the locked down lab. The darkest themes of the play are enhanced and examined in this tale. Bravo!

A locked room murder mystery Hamlet retelling with a wealth of gorgeous phrasing, a fascinating structure and a satisfying ending.

Though this book is short, it’s richly woven – Hayden, the brilliant, moody son of the brilliant Dr Lichfield, recently deceased; Horatio, our narrator and Elsinore Lab’s OS; and Felicia, Hayden’s ex who is much more than meets the eye. Told in a semi-epistolary format, this is a fresh take on one of the most loved Shakespearean plays. Looking forward to reading more from this author!

DNF @ 15%

Unfortunately, this book just did not work for me. I didn't think I could find a Hamlet retelling boring, but alas, here we are. The dual POV wasn't working for me, and I was not a fan of the writing style at all. I think the concept of making Hamlet a locked room mystery thriller is super interesting, but I'm just not sure it really works without the suspense element, because this really isn't much of a mystery at all if you know anything about Hamlet. I think there's definitely an audience out there for this book, but unfortunately, I am just not that audience.

I liked the layout/format of this book. It was definitely unique from that perspective. Also the weird ai/machine x human relationship that was going on, I've not read anything like that before and I enjoyed it. However the actual plot and story fell flat for me. It just dragged way too much with no amazing ending that made it worthwhile.