Thank you to NetGalley/Titan Books for a copy of A Botanical Daughter in exchange for an honest review.
Summary
It is an unusual thing, to live in a botanical garden. But Simon and Gregor are an unusual pair of gentlemen. Hidden away in their glass sanctuary from the disapproving tattle of Victorian London, they are free to follow their own interests without interference.
For Simon, this means long hours in the dark basement workshop, working on his taxidermical art. Gregor’s business is exotic plants — lucrative but harmless enough. Until his latest acquisition, a strange fungus which shows signs of intellect beyond any plant he’s seen, inspires him to attempt a masterwork: true intelligent life from plant matter.
Driven by the glory he’ll earn from the Royal Horticultural Society for such an achievement, Gregor ignores the flaws in his plan: that intelligence cannot be controlled, that plants cannot be reasoned with; and that the only way his plant-beast will flourish is if he uses a recently deceased corpse for the substrate.
The experiment — or Chloe, as she is named — outstrips even Gregor’s expectations, entangling their strange household. But as Gregor’s experiment flourishes, he wilts under the cost of keeping it hidden from jealous eyes. The mycelium grows apace in this sultry greenhouse. But who is cultivating whom?
Does It Live up to the Synopsis?
I wanted so badly to like Noah Medlock’s A Botanical Daughter. The premise is right up my alley. I do love a good atmospheric horror (and Victorian? Even better!). Seeing that I used to work for a gardening and lifestyle website, I even knew more about the topic at hand. AND it’s gay? This book should have tickled all my fancies.
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Unfortunately, it didn’t. For one, A Botanical Daughter is excruciatingly slow. It’s not that horror cannot be a slow burn (or slow creep), but it needs to build tension along the way. I didn’t feel suspense in this novel.
Further, the unhealthy relationship between Gregor and Simon squicked me out. Of course, it’s okay for relationships in novels to be harmful. But I don’t know that they should be presented like A Botanical Daughter does Gregor’s and Simon’s. While Medlock acknowledges that elements of the relationship are problematic, I don’t know that he goes far enough.
That doesn’t mean there’s nothing I appreciated about A Botanical Daughter. I love the setting and the way that Medlock describes it. I also like the spin on Frankenstein. Too, is the way that this novel addresses the pain of queerness, especially with regard to family creation. There’s a sick, twisted element here that could also be applied to how AI is used today (and will continue to be).
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Medlock doesn’t fully form these ideas, though. They are sprinkled throughout the book, and the book would have been better had he chosen one or two of them to deeply explore, along with the science of Gregor’s Monster. As it stands, the things I liked weren’t enough to outweigh what I didn’t. I can’t really recommend the book.
A Botanical Daughter comes out on March 19, 2024. 📚🌿
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/new-book-releases-march-12-2024/
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