Thank you NetGalley, Tor Books, and Macmillan Audio for copies in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a wild ride. Notes From a Regicide reads more like speculative literary fiction, and Fellman took a great many risks in storytelling that paid off in this gorgeous and ambitious story. I quite enjoyed the audio (and switched between that and the written text every now and then) and thought Avi Roque did a wonderful job with the narration, but the nonlinear nature of the story definitely benefited from an eyeball read for me. This is the story that definitely demands to be sat with instead of blazed through, and while there were definitely times I struggled with the pacing, especially in the middle, I think this is perfect if you want a raw, messy, character-driven novel that is unapologetic in its queerness.

I really enjoyed this exploration of trans identities across the ages and the way the author entwines everything in a sweeping speculative family saga. Original and good audio, definitely a book I'll be recommending. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, even if it was not what I was expecting.

This novel is set in the future and is a character study of our protagonist, Griffon, as well as his chosen parents. It is written like a memoir, with writings from his adoptive parents sprinkled throughout, and shows the struggles they have endured.

This hits really hard during our current times. It's more important than ever to consume trans literature and realize that we have always been here and we're not going anywhere. This book was slow-paced and speculative, more so than I was expecting, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Sci-Fi novels can be hit-or-miss for me, but this was definitely a hit.

The narrator for this audiobook was wonderful. I thought the voice fit perfectly to the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy.

I think this was too literary sci-fi for my tastes. Overall, I did enjoy it, but I felt like it was too slow. I read it in one day, but it was spread out between many reading sessions simply because I found myself drifting off/spacing out because of the pacing.

I did really enjoy the representation. I love reading books with trans men MCs as a trans man myself, and this was nice!

I enjoyed the slow pace and lyrical writing in this story. It's definitely a character-driven story, which I love, and the speculative twist is a nice touch. I also appreciated that despite the hardships the characters endured, they still became more fully themselves as the story developed and managed to find joy and love along the way. A lovely read.

The way I described this novel to an internet acquintance is that it makes you feel like a small ant against the tide of history, but in the best sort of way. One of those moments that you have when you grow up is that you realize that your parents had their own histories before you came along into the story, and how that in turn shapes their interactions with you. This book is that moment writ out against the recent death of Griffin's father as he goes through his father's old diaries and learns about who he and his parter were before he came along, and the revolution they were involved in. The interiority that Fellman conveys here is absolutely astonishing, and deserves the comparisons to LeCarre and Woolf that I've seen around. It also accurately describes that feeling of slowly being boiled alive and realizing that maybe the best possible option IS to burn it all down. Hell of a book. Avi Rogue, the narrator, also does an amazing job of giving each of the characters distinct voices and does an incredible job of narration besides.

This novel was deeply engaging from start to finish through each character's powerful voice, incredible attention to sensory and atmospheric detail, and worldbuilding and storytelling brilliance. It's a world in the not-so-far future utilizing elements of current government structures and historical monarchies to portray the power, influence, and downfall of an insecure leader with everything to lose. I loved this book up, down, and backwards and will recommend it to anyone with an interest in social and political science, queer and trans identities, and art.

I love Isaac's last book Dead Collections and couldn't wait for this release! "Notes from a Regicide" by Isaac Fellman was captivating trans found family story told in a really fun and unique way.

This is a deeply compelling historical story with trans people at the center of the story. I really enjoyed the literary voice of the narrator and found them to be much easier to follow that other historical fiction in this time period.

On top of this- the narration is excellently done and keeps the story compelling and engaging from start to finish.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for my free ARC of Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman — available Apr 15!

» READ IF YOU «
📖 love character-driven stories with a little bit of sci-fi
🏳️‍⚧️ want to read about trans identities and the best trope: found family
🖋️ are looking for themes dealing with grief, legacy, and self-discovery

» SYNOPSIS «
Griffon mourns the loss of his adoptive parents, who rescued him from abuse and helped mentor him through his transition. When he finds a memoir penned by his father during his prison sentence for regicide, Griffon sets out to unbury the hidden past of his parents—trans artists and revolutionaries. As he digs deeper into the past, Griffon will uncover the undeniable impact of their love, struggles, and the revolution that shaped all three of their lives.

» REVIEW «
A lovely narrative that combines solid character development with a politically intriguing plot. The prose here is simultaneously lovely and pointed, doing a solid job of capturing the nuances of grief, love, and the search for self-fulfillment. I did enjoy the alternating POVs—though sometimes this strategy irks me in stories, I think it was necessary here. There are some speculative/sci-fi elements that provide a nice little unique flavor for the story, but I don't really love sci-fi so I think I would have preferred a different path, personally. Though if you're down, dig on in!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

CW: war, injuries, child abuse

Okay, I finished this a couple of days ago and I'm still thinking about it. In fact, it left such an impression on me that I've pre-ordered the hardcover.

I'm not even sure what to say about this story. I see that it's tagged as being Sci-Fi, but it's not really? Other than that it is set in a far-flung future and set in a made up place. Otherwise, I didn't get Sci-Fi vibes from this book at all.

This is really just the story of a family, who found themselves over the years. Griffon ran away from his birth father, who was terrible and abusive, and found a home with Zaffre and Etoine, two married trans artists who had fled their homeland after their intimate involvement with a failed revolution.

It took me a while to get into it, as it jumps around A LOT, from the first person accounts of Griffon to Etoine's journal entries, but once I got into it, I WAS INTO IT.

I found it incredibly moving how Griffon, Zaffre, and Etoine are all trying to do their best for each other, while coming from very different backgrounds and carrying very different traumas. Over the course of the book they all hurt each other in various ways, but their love for each other always comes through.

The ending absolutely wrecked me; it's so beautiful and emotional and just kind of everything.

Avi Roque did an absolutely phenomenal job of narrating this!

After the death of his chosen father, Griffon tries to piece together the story of his parents' pasts from the journals he left behind. Having come into their lives later in the game there was much he had missed out on. Through these jumbled pages he uncovers not just details of their romance, their ascent as artists, but just how tangled they were in revolution. It gives him a new lens to consider his own personal story in relation to theirs.

“Notes from a Regicide” is a book I'm still processing. Before I get to the themes and my impressions I think I should address that stylistically it is a bit disjointed, meandering, beyond the switch of perspectives. It was occasionally frustrating. Then something in its epilogue really brings it all together. It is not a case of wishing for a work to spend more time with the editor. It's a cleaver tactic I think writers will appreciate the most.

I suspect there is also a secondary purpose. The material in this book is dark. It's heavy. It's gritty. It's honest. At times it's lyrical, empowering, and endearing. These are deeply flawed characters who don't shy away from who they are. They know their cracks. In one another the three find those who will except every dingy bit of them and see all the beauty buried below.

I can only speak to my experience as far as representation. I personally do not experience many of the issues and am a cisgendered person. However I have known far less extreme depression and those who have had trauma and addictions not too terribly dissimilar from some of those in this tale. For me Zaffre's ability to distinguish and fight with her own brain was a direct hit. We all have a little nagging voice. Some go above and beyond with cruel persistence. It can be exhausting just telling yourself it's brain chemistry talking not logic or reality. That's without having the misfortune of a condition that makes you question reality itself.

This book doesn't fit into one nice little genre box. It's technically sci-fi I suppose. It's speculative. There is another predominant one that I'd rather leave out as it is a mild spoiler. It's a commentary on systems of power. It's a character study on the relationship and roles of gender. I can't even begin to list how many ways it touches on different elements and perspectives within the trans community from dysphoria to medical technology and historical approaches to personal relationship to the act of sex. It's also a book for art lovers. There's a very broad look at the industry and what one must do to make a career. The content of a work is also philosophical discussed be it a statement, a personal passion, commercial, or as per one argument, propaganda.

If there is one small personal disappointment I really would have loved to see more of the world. I wanted to know how everything about the status of industry, technology, social life, and how it all now stood compared to the past. I wanted to know how exactly this setting came to be. I accept it was not the purpose of the book. If anything I applaud the author not to get sidetracked in world building. I just really loved the snippets we were provided. I don't feel a sequel would be appropriate but I have to confess I'd adore a novella exploring these things. After all, with a journalist lead, who knows what types of assignments could be given to him or his colleagues?

I really can't praise this enough even though I know it won't be for everyone. What I find unique and refreshing might seem wayward or overwhelming to others. That doesn't change the fact that it is very rare for me to firmly know that I had to take a pause after reading to even come close to a just review. I will be chewing on this for a while.

3.5 stars rounded up

Beautifully written queer literary fiction with a bit of a speculative twist. Not quite what I was expecting, and not entirely my thing stylistically, but a novel I think will resonate with the right audience. Notes from a Regicide is supposed to be a memoir/biography written by a trans man a thousand years in the future about his adoptive trans parents who were revolutionaries.

This is slow-paced, deeply character driven, not always linear, and ferociously queer and trans. Especially with what is happening politically right now in the United States, this feels like an important statement that trans people have always existed and aren't going anywhere. It's not an easy book- characters deal with oppression, abuse, addiction, mental health struggles and more. And yet in the midst of everything they find love and joy and ways to live more fully into themselves. While I sometimes found this book to be too slow for my taste and sometimes confusing in terms of the timeline, I love what it's doing and suspect that it's going to somebody's new favorite book. The audio narration is well done, and thankfully we get different voices for the narrator and the pieces written by his father before he died. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Sorry to the ARC reviewing gods, but I cannot finish this book in this format. Though I've listened to several narrated by them, I am not a particular fan of Avi Roque's narration of YA books; I just do not enjoy listening to their voice. Beyond a general dislike of Roque's narration, I think their voice comes across quite young, and I am uninterested in trying to force myself to finish this adult novel with their voice in my ear. I am quite sensitive to narrators' voice, by which I mean that not enjoying the narrator can legitimately ruin a reading experience for me. My ears rebelled against hearing Avi Roque's voice narrate this story. I admit that I didn't check to see who the narrator is before requesting this title (probably obvious at this point), which is absolutely my bad and a lesson learned!

I'll be reading this book with my eyeballs. Thanks anyways for the ALC, Tordotcom and Netgalley!

*Note: Since I don't have anything meaningful to say about this book yet beyond the above, I won't be posting this review on any review sites or socials.