"Kill the Dawn" by Emily Hayse

It's Hamlet... IN SPACE!

The above sentence is a lie. This book has nothing to do with space. Kill the Dawn is, in fact, Hamlet... IN SCANDINAVIA!

Yes, yes, I know Hamlet is already set in Scandinavia. More accurately, it's Hamlet... IN FANTASY SCANDINAVIA! There, we went three for three and we can start being serious.

This is a fantasy retelling of Hamlet, with all the drama and bloodshed that entails. If you want a more coherent review, go here.

I've read some adaptations of the original, including the Manga Classics version, so I mostly know how the story goes. (I haven't read the original, though. The only Shakespeare play I've read in its entirety is Julius Caesar.) So I do have the knowledge necessary to... mostly figure out who people are supposed to be. There are some people in this whose counterparts I can't fathom (if anyone knows who Axel is supposed to be, please tell me) and there are some people whose counterparts I recognized instantly (I'm looking at you, Fainga/Claudius).

Were this a videogame, I'd rate it: T for fantasy violence. It could be a pretty good videogame.

4 stars.

(Endnote: Next I'll be reviewing the sequel, No Leave The Dawn Alone You Fool What Were You Thinking You've Doomed Us All.)