A beautifully written futuristic story loosely based on Hamlet, one that I was very excited about and I’m really pleased I was able to get my hands on it!
In a nutshell, the book is a retelling of the night Graham Lichfield, Hayden’s father, was murdered in their laboratory.
The story is told through memoirs, court documents, security camera footage, chat logs, and video transcripts. Personally, I don’t believe the e book supported this format well - that could have just been my experience though.
I'll be recommending this well-written and compelling book to everyone however, I’d perhaps, suggest you get a copy of the physical book rather than the ebook.

This story is supposed to be a Hamlet retelling, which I was excited about reading. While the futuristic elements of the story were kind of cool and definitely were well-written, I really couldn't get into this story. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or just the overall story. I'm sure someone will read this and enjoy it, but it wasn't for me.

I received an eARC of The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu through Netgalley, thanks Solaris! This scifi thriller comes out on September 12.

The story starts when main character Hayden find his father murdered in the laboratory they both work at. The lab goes in lockdown while the people inside try to figure out what happened. Tensions rise, and Hayden’s only ally is the lab’s sentient AI, Horatio.

The main reason I requested this ARC is that it is a Hamlet retelling, with Hayden being a modern version of Hamlet, and this piqued my interest. Now, you definitely don’t need read Hamlet or know that story to enjoy this book, but I am glad I did read Hamlet first so I could spot all the references. If you know the original story, you might be able to predict some plot twists in the retelling, but rest assured, there will still be plenty of surprises, and don’t expect all characters to behave or end up exactly as their counterparts in the original did…

The overall atmosphere was very tense, with a small cast of characters being locked in the lab, and nobody trusting each other. Mixed into this were some intriguing science fiction elements around what they were actually doing in this lab. A pleasant surprise for me were the mixed media elements in the book, like texting logs, letters, and video descriptions. I thought these were a great addition. The writing of the regular prose chapters was often beautiful and painful and I highlighted many impactful quotes.

What I love most about the original play, is the character of Hamlet and his emotions. Hayden definitely brought this same emotional depth. His emotions, his doubts and despair, and his connection with the AI, were what pulled me into the story and kept me hooked.

Lastly I want to give a content warning for self harm and suicidal ideation, both very present throughout the story. For the most intense event there is a trigger warning written into the novel itself, right before it happens which I appreciate a lot.

I definitely recommend this one if you like scifi thrillers, AI stories, or Shakespeare retellings. 5 stars from me, looking forward to reading more by this author.

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Solaris (an imprint of Rebellion Publishing) for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. In early August, I heard about this one for the first time and immediately put in a request on NetGalley for the ARC. This is a 21st century retelling of Hamlet with both a SciFi and locked-room murder mystery twist. I got approved which meant I needed to start this one as soon as possible because it comes out in the second week of September. Make sure you keep an eye out for The Death I Gave Him when it's published on September 12th.

As some may know, Hamlet is my favorite Shakespeare play. (I also love some Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead but that's neither here nor there.) So when I heard about this book I had to read it. And maybe my love of Hamlet was part of my problem. Don't get me wrong, this was a great book and I think the author took some really great chances in order to tell this story. But I think when I saw characters deviating from what I expected based on my knowledge of Hamlet it took me out of the story a bit and led to a slightly lower rating than I probably would have given it otherwise. I love how insular the whole story is. It all takes place in this one building and we only have this small cast of characters (that gets smaller and smaller as the evening wears on). It makes everything feel so absolutely suffocating. Which I think is a real credit to the author because they manage to create such a dark atmosphere. I also think they manage to really dive into the head of a man whose constant grappling with the depth of his depression and his manic thoughts becomes sort of--darkly poetic at moments. And other moments it's hard not to shake him and tell him to snap the fuck out of it. You can really see the author's love for Shakespeare in both the characters and the writing style throughout the novel. I really appreciated the fact that the Ophelia character got a much better storyline here. I also enjoyed the SciFi aspect of the story. I love when we can mesh multiple genres together and getting this retelling of a classic with both SciFi and Mystery/Thriller? It's going to be a good time no matter what.

I struggled at times with how the author had turned one of the characters from Hamlet into this AI character. I have no problem with robots or droids or AI in most fiction (gestures at the evidence of my love for Murderbot all over this blog), but the author took the AI in a way that I didn't particularly, enjoy, I guess is the word for it? It's hard to explain without getting into the actual details. Basically, this AI is in love with our Hamlet figure, which harkens back to this sort of impression a lot of people have of the two characters in Hamlet, and it was fine up unto the point where we had to see their relationship attempt to get physical? I really don't know how to describe it better than that without spoiling aspects of the book. I genuinely do not mind the questions of what makes someone/something human or how AI is impacted by their interactions with humans and things like that. I don't even mind the thought of having an AI fall in love with a human. I think I just don't like the way the physical stuff happened here. But maybe that's just my tastes and nothing to do with how it was written?

Overall, I think if you're a general fan of Shakespeare or retellings of classics you're going to have a good time here. I think if you're really into Hamlet you might not quite love it as much. But, also, know that I am definitely a picky person when it comes to retellings.

This unfortunately did not work for me. I couldn’t focus on this at all. It wasn’t for me and I’m not sure who I would recommend this to.

a Hamlet retelling pitched as a scifi locked-room murder mystery....color me intirgued, although I'm not really sure how it could be a mystery because we all know the reveals in Hamlet. this was definitely more character focused, and i enjoyed the futuristic elements - it was a beautifully written story, but I did find it confusing at times. I'm not sure if it was the writing itself, or the formatting of my ebook, but I felt like some of the dialogue was confusing and character motives weren't the most fleshed out.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I'm glad to say it did not disappoint.
The Death I Gave Him is a hard sci-fi with a medical focus, based on a loose retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet. I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience and thought the author's exploration of depression, guilt, and fear of death was poignant and impactful.

I do, however, believe that the book blurb could have been more accurate. For one thing, I wouldn't call the writing lyrical. The prose is pretty straightforward and matter-of-fact, which fits the overall tone of the novel as well as the mixed media format Liu chose to employ. The story is told through a fragmented narrative, using interview excerpts, chat logs, and video transcripts as well as a more traditonal third person, omniscient narration. I thought this technique made the writing more dynamic, and helped me get through the slower parts of the novel.

The marketing also leaned heavily on the characters' queer identity. I guess you could say that the main romantic relationship between a man and a genderless AI has elements of queerness; however, I feel like touting this book as "a gay Shakespeare retelling" could create unrealistic expectations in the audience. That being said, I found the exchanges between Hayden and Horatio utterly compelling and emotionally resonant.

Speaking of relationships: one of my favorite things about this book was how Liu re-imagined the female characters in Hamlet. Felicia was a layered, interesting, and morally grey co-protagonist that I had a lot of fun reading about. I applaud the author for succeeding so effectively in reinventing Ophelia for a modern audience.

Overall, I had a great time with this book. Even though I think that some chapters could have been trimmed down a bit, the story managed to keep me engaged and interested in the characters' journeys until the end. I'm curious to see how this will do upon release, and wouldn't be surprised to see it nominated for a bunch of awards next year.


Many thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I read an eARC of this so thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publisher.

A Hamlet retelling, locked room murder mystery in a secret lab… what’s not to love!

Everything about the premise of this was brilliant, what a wonderful imagination this author has. It’s a lot of different elements but I felt the author blended them together exceptionally well.

The book started off so well and I was completely gripped at the start. I flew through the first half of the book. I did find that it lost momentum in the second half sadly.

There’s some really interesting scientific discoveries explored in this novel and many secrets are uncovered as we learn more about what Hayden and his father had been working on, and keeping from those around them.

There were some genuinely shocking moments with characters attempting to enact their secret plans and it going very, very wrong for them.

I loved the laboratory setting of this, the locked room creating tension as the lab is shut down.

My (very few) issues stemmed from none of the characters being sympathetic, they’re all quite villainous in their own ways. Also it got a bit repetitive in the second half with changing loyalties and self pity.

Otherwise this was a fascinating read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of The Death I Gave Him in exchange for an honest review!

For a good deal of this book, I was torn between giving 3 or 4 stars. I've settled on a 3-star rating. The book was good -- slightly above average -- but will not be memorable for me. It was a great futuristic take on Hamlet ... the end. In the absence of the Hamlet tribute, the whole story felt merely like a standard mystery set in the 2040's. With the exception of the neuromapping and the technology that was being developed at Elsinore, it felt like there could've been some more concrete world building to solidify the setting and distinguish the book from other futuristic thrillers.

The pros? The writing was exquisite. Lyrical, often clinically and scientifically poetic. Liu is a talented author in terms of prose. It was third-person writing done well, and that has to be commended! Also, the structure and formats of the ways in which the story was told were ambitious -- and those ambitions paid off, because it framed the plot so well.

The cons? The characters, the "surprises," and being able to determine the plot twists far ahead of them occurring.

In true Shakespearean fashion, the characters were all unlikeable and infuriating -- which can often be to the benefit of a story by giving the reader conflicting emotions. In this case, I found that it was a disservice in the end. I will say that the relationship between Hayden and Horatio was fascinating, especially when that relationship became romantic in nature. It was one of the more thought-provoking aspects of the novel.

However, Felicia was absolutely maddening. By 60% in, I simply could not stand her.

The continuous roundabouts of whiplash, betrayal and "plot twists" started to become stale a bit over halfway through the story. I started to expect them, to the point where they left no impact anymore when they happened. The book felt like it could've been maybe 50 pages shorter and still left the same impression. Therefore, I was somewhat just ready for the book to end.

Overall, this book was an ambitious attempt at Hamlet in a futuristic, sci-fi setting. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. The book was a bit out of the realm of what I normally choose to read, but was an overall enjoyable experience.

Hits shelves in September 2023!

3.75 - 4 stars

I love being surprised by books. I love it when I go into a book with preconceived notions whether it be from blurbs or reviews or marketing and then being completely taken aback by how different the story is. Em X. Liu's debut novel The Death I Gave Him is one of those books. It was a lot more darker, angrier, and emotionally charged than I was prepared for.

I definitely see the comparisons to Gideon the Ninth. Spooky labs, mad scientists obsessed with cracking immortality, necromancy and resurrection. How a person's guilt and self-hatred can lead to spiralling to the point of self-destruction. And yet it is something completely unique and on its own. Fans of the former, however, will definitely enjoy this.

The Death I Gave Him is an exploration of mental health, grief and obsession. The writing is some of the emotionally wrought and rawest stuff I have ever read. I was expecting a murder mystery with some queer romance thrown in and packaged as a Hamlet retelling but it was so much more. Liu is a master at writing difficult to like, and difficult to dissect characters. Both Hayden and Felicia contain multitudes and are real fleshed-out characters. Their plights seem real and heartwrenching and it is a hard task distilling them down to "good" or "bad" characters. And I feel like that is the crux of writing a good story. Liu presents Hayden's grief over losing his father as well as his emotional turmoil in the most painful way possible. Hayden's depression and obsession with death and immortality are so interesting to read about because each page and each line reveals so many more layers to what makes him a person and ultimately leads to his tragic actions. Similarly, Felicia and her being torn between what her warring emotions dictate. The plight and conflict of these characters is the very essence of the iconic question "To be or not to be?" To betray their fathers by choosing the path of life and action or to avenge their fathers and commit themselves to the metaphorical or literal death of one's soul. In that, The Death I Gave Him is everything that a retelling should be: Thematically paralleling the original text but also expanding upon it in a unique and more nuanced setting and conflict.

In terms of the locked room murder mystery, I wouldn't say there is much shock or actual "mystery" to it. Especially if you know the story of Hamlet. Events leading up to and the conclusion of the murders are pretty much in line with the play. Finding the murderer or the villain isn't the point of the story. It's whether the characters can forgive themselves for all that they've done and learn to live and grow from that. However, what Liu does is use the mystery to develop and push the characters' on their path of existential crisis. The plot pushes Hayden, Felicia and even Horatio to action. To do something about the conflict they are stuck in. So if you go into this expecting to be given a puzzle of whodunit, be warned. This is less a murder mystery and more an exploration of a character's mind and the limits to which it can be pushed in its desire for revenge and meaning. Liu does that exquisitely and this book is a keen study of mental health and suicidal ideation. Though rather than being bleak, the ending is pretty hopeful. It promises light at the end of the tunnel and that there is always a path to healing if you are willing to give life a chance.

The Death I Gave Him comes out 12/09/2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really didn't think I would enjoy this as I'm a big fan of Shakespeare's work and a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to adaptations but I was pleasantly surprised.

Liu's love of Shakespeare shines through in this book but despite the characters all being based on the cast of Hamlet, they feel so unique and different. I loved Horatio, and the development of the relationship between Horatio and Hayden was amazing. The small cast and the locked room setting made this a claustrophobic read which I could not put down! Liu's writing style is gorgeous - lyrical, seductive and perfectly paced.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book had some interesting ideas about how an AI being might experience emotion, but overall this book wasn't for me. Despite being a retelling of Hamlet, the revenge elements weren't compelling. Perhaps because, with the exception of the AI character, it was hard to understand why the characters cared so deeply about their work and each other. Reading others' reviews, it's definitely possible I would have enjoyed this more if I remembered more of Hamlet. At the same time, I don't think deep understanding of the original should be required to enjoy a retelling. I didn't particularly enjoy this reading experience, but I'm sure many will.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC.

Although my familiarity with Shakespeare’s body of work is embarrassingly small, I’m always always down for queer Shakespeare retellings and man does Liu deliver. Structurally creative, with raw, vicious prose and an absolute mess of a main character, The Death I Gave Him makes for a phenomenal debut novel.

I will embarrassingly admit that I have little familiarity with the actual story of Hamlet, so there was certainly a layer of storytelling I missed. From a quick browse of Goodreads reviews, readers familiar with the original would know exactly ‘who did it’ in this locked room mystery from the moment the characters get introduced. For me, with only Hayden as an exceedingly unreliable narrator, I spent an embarrassing amount second guessing what were, in hindsight, the obvious clues. Coming as someone unfamiliar with the source material, The Death I Gave Him never once hits the pitfall many retellings face, of the story feeling forcibly re-directed to scaffold to events of the original.

The Death I Gave Him is written in one of the more creative and fun approaches I’ve seen in recent SFF. The overarching story is told from a history student’s Master’s thesis, put together from memoir excerpts, court documents, security camera footage, and the (embellished) neuro-communications between our main character Hayden and his AI-assistant/friend Horatio. In true academic writing fashion, there are footnotes galore throughout the book, offering this unnamed history grad student’s own thoughts and commentary, as well as worldbuilding tidbits, throughout.

Technically, this book takes place over the course of only fourteen hours, from the moment Horatio first discovers his father Graham Lichfield’s body, to dawn the next day and all the events that transpired over the night. And Liu’s phenomenal prose makes every one of those hours feel so damn tense. Not so shockingly, the stakes of a locked room murder mystery set in an experimental neuro-engineering facility with mad-scientist-esque equipment abound are higher than most.

Of course, the star of this book is the character work, specifically Hayden’s alarmingly-rapid deterioration of reasonable decision-making skills. The way Liu is able to get into Hayden’s head and really pick at what’s making him tick, combined with the exterior POVs of Hayden from Horatio and ex-girlfriend Felicia, make him such a fun trainwreck of a character to follow. An honorable mention goes to Horatio, who’s fascinating codependent relationship with Hayden adds a delightful layer of depth to their interactions. Is it queer if it’s you and your AI companion who’s extremely DTF and concerningly bad at hiding it? Hell yeah.

Overall, I rate this book a 5/5. Raw, biting prose, the epitome of messy queer characters, and incredibly creative storytelling structure. The Death I Gave Him delivers a terse fourteen-hour locked-room mystery with incredible character exploration as we watch Hayden voluntarily climb the ladder down to his own personal hell.

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 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!

I was very excited for this book because it sounded like a mad scientist book in the same vein as Frankenstein, but modern, and I like me a good science fiction thriller, but alas, I ended up DNFing this book at 22%.
I couldn't connect to the characters or the prose. There was no world building of any kind. Are we in the future? In an alternate timeline? Who knows! I thought one character was the MC but then when it changed POV it was suddenly in first person instead of in third, so is that supposed to be the real MC? The Woman POV was annoying because a murder just took place and they are in lockdown but all she can seem to think about is her ex-boyfriend and she supposedly has a biochemistry master's degree but she is dumb about the simplest things that she should know! There was a weird transition that didn't make sense to me just to force the story to work the way the author wanted it to. So maybe if this story was better written I would have given it a longer chance. Just not for me.

The Death I Gave Him is an incredibly interesting exploration of the lengths that people will go to in order for what they care about.

This book lived up to the tension and drama that it promised with its opening scene. With a narrative that's pulled from journals, interviews, call logs, and an AI's data recollection, it's often hard to tell who is telling the truth and who is lying -- or rather, what exactly they're hiding. Who's the deadliest person in the room, and who has the most to lose?

Locked in a facility with only a handful of people -- including his father's dead body, an AI, and his ex-girlfriend -- Hayden throws himself into the task of finding out who murdered his father, and protecting the precious formula that could one day lead to immortality that his father died for.

Almost every character descends into tragedy or brutality or both, and watching the journey that multiple characters take on that path, particularly Hayden and Felicity, was inevitable and terrible and brilliant. More than once I was surprised by the horror of how things played out, as these characters throw themselves into destruction.

Another fascinating part was the development of the AI system, Horatio, throughout the book. For a story that encompasses only one night (for the most part), the growth of Horatio's "feelings" and how the AI interacted with the story was a prominent and well done aspect.

This book was messy in a good way. Messy because people are messy, and unpredictable, and imperfect. Both accidents and intent are deadly here. Definitely recommend.

1.5, rounded up to 2 stars. *world's longest sigh* This is, once again, one of those books that I would really love to have liked more, but I just couldn't. The premise of The Death I Gave Him -- Hamlet retold as a "queer sci-fi locked-room mystery" -- sounds so tantalizing, but unfortunately, the more I read, the clearer it became that many of these concepts either simply didn't work or weren't very well-executed.

First of all, I'm not really sure Hamlet works as a mystery, doubly so from Hamlet's (Hayden's) point of view. There was no sense of mystery whatsoever -- even if you hadn't read Hamlet, one of the most famous stories in the world, before, I mean ... Hamlet's dad literally appears to him and tells him who killed him. I'm not going to mark that as a spoiler because, well, come on, it's Hamlet. So that killed one of the major selling points, right off the bat. Also, the locked-room aspect felt a bit forced to me. In fact, a lot of the plot felt forced to me, which was, if not caused by, then certainly not helped by the fact that the plot itself is borrowed. The characters also felt woefully underdeveloped to me (a feat considering the characters, too, were borrowed, and should have come with ready-made characterizations), which only added to the contrivance of it all. The motivations and actions of the characters didn't make any sense to me; quite honestly, it felt like the author was making up reasons to have the characters act out scenes that mirror the original Hamlet. And none of this was helped by writing that I found edging onto purple prose and tended to take away the characters' agency: Hayden doesn't grit his teeth, "his teeth click." Hayden doesn't reach for the table, "his hand moves toward the table." The characters aren't agents of their own actions, they are pulled about by their own hands and shoulders and feet -- and the author.

Also: I'm really not sure if I would call this book that "queer." Clearly the blurb is referring to the relationship between Hayden and the AI named "Horatio," but this relationship is barely developed, IMO, and a much larger part of the narrative focuses on the relationship between Hayden and Felicia. Just an FYI for anyone who might have been expecting more.

Overall, an interesting premise that was, in hindsight, perhaps doomed to fail (re: the contradictory nature of attempting to spin Hamlet as a mystery), and was unfortunately not buoyed by much else.

I am stunned by this book, I truly loved it. What a wonderful experience. It was a fantastic, fresh blend of themes and ideas. I'll be recommending it to everyone, not just fans of the genre.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I went into The Death I Gave Him with some trepidation. I'd seen early some early reviews and knew the premise was queer sci-fi Hamlet retelling and thought, maybe I'm not smart enough for this book? And yeah, it is freaking genius and unbelievably imaginative, but at no time did I feel any more underwater than with any sci-fi. The Hamlet bits worked even though I'm sure I missed 99% of the allusions, but those that I got let me feel smug, like I'd earned that college degree. The Hamlet structure was really just there, like any frame, but the real strength of this book was for me in the unique story telling.

The events that take place are pieced together through various artefacts, such as surveillance footage, interviews, letters, text messages etc. We don't know who is putting this together, though the narrator intrudes in footnotes in the first person from time to time to explain their methods. This framing device, along with the closed-room aspect of the plot, really gives this book the feel of a spotlit stage, and the Hamlet aspect adds to the sense that what's to come has already happened.

In addition to the flesh and blood characters, we meet straight away, Horatio, an AI who interacts both with Elsinore, the lab, and the main character, Hayden. Horatio is in some ways the most human character in the book, infused with emotion, longing, fear, and curiosity. I have such a soft spot for anthropomorphized robots, so of course, I was all about Horatio and loved how his journey progressed through the story.

Because this is a thriller, and despite the Hamlet of it all, I hesitate to press on with how the thriller progresses. Even knowing Hamlet, this isn't a one-to-one retelling, and there are enough differences that made it fun trying to predict how the mystery would unfold. It's just a super fun ride, and I'm so impressed with the author for pulling this off.

A modern closed-room mystery around AI / brain technology mixed with a modern retelling of Hamlet, this was a really enjoyable and thrilling book. The fact that the blurb mentioned Hamlet meant I obviously knew the uncle was guilty, but luckily there was much more to this book than that. It was really enjoyable, the tension was super high throughout and it kept me guessing all the way to the end!