michael sun

The Marrow Thieves is a painfully overrated book. The plot is sluggish, and the pacing drags to the point of being unbearable. The characters feel one-dimensional, almost as if they were afterthoughts. You’d think a novel with such an important premise — about a dystopian future where Indigenous people’s bone marrow is harvested — would be gripping, but it’s as if the story has no energy at all. The writing style is awkward, full of repetitive phrases and unnecessary descriptions that add nothing to the plot. Dialogue feels forced, with characters speaking in unnatural ways that make you cringe. You’d expect depth, but instead, the themes are dealt with in a shallow, predictable way. It’s almost insulting to the rich culture it’s trying to represent. To make matters worse, the book drags out certain parts that should be exciting, but instead, they feel like filler. I had to struggle to finish each chapter, hoping it would finally pick up — but it never does. It’s clear that the author had good intentions, but the execution is a disaster. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they need help falling asleep. DO NOT READ