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The Two Doctors Górski: Library Edition
Annae, a brilliant graduate student in psychiatric magic and survivor of academic abuse, can’t stop reading people’s minds. This is how she protects herself, by using her abilities to give her colleagues what they each want out of their relationship with her.
When Annae moves to the UK to rebuild her life and finds herself studying under the infamous, misanthropic magician Marec Górski, she sees inside his head a dangerous path to her redemption. Annae now faces two choices—follow in Dr. Górski’s lead, or break free of a lifetime of conditioning to follow her own path.
When Annae moves to the UK to rebuild her life and finds herself studying under the infamous, misanthropic magician Marec Górski, she sees inside his head a dangerous path to her redemption. Annae now faces two choices—follow in Dr. Górski’s lead, or break free of a lifetime of conditioning to follow her own path.
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First published November 29, 2022
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About the author
Isaac Fellman
6 books185 followersIsaac Fellman is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Dead Collections, The Two Doctors Gorski, and The Breath of the Sun.
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July 18, 2024
My full review of The Two Doctors Górski is published at Grimdark Magazine.
The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman is an introspective masterpiece of low fantasy, exploring questions of identity, mental illness, and toxic relationships in higher education.
The main character, Annae Hofstader, is a 27-year-old Ph.D. student who escapes an abusive relationship with her thesis advisor at the University of California by transferring to Brandford University in England. As the only female graduate student in her program, Annae feels self-conscious and isolated.
Annae’s field of study is magic, which is viewed as both a science and an art. While her peers focus primarily on botanical applications of magic, Annae hopes to use her magical skills to cure mental illness. To aid in this endeavor, Annae has acquired the ability to enter the consciousness of other people, reading their innermost thoughts. Although she seeks to help others, she often finds herself slipping into nearby minds to escape her own troubles and insecurities.
Annae’s new advisor at Brandford University, Dr. Marec Górski, is highly accomplished in the magical arts, but also heartless and temperamental. Marec’s cruelty runs deep. Wishing to free himself from guilt over his offensive treatment of others, Marec uses his magical skills to excise the benevolent aspects of his personality, creating another Dr. Górski in the form of a homunculus named Ariel. While Marec is a university professor specializing in magic, Ariel becomes a psychologist. With her own research, Annae wishes to span both these fields represented by the two Doctors Górski, using magic-enhanced psychological manipulation to heal mental sickness.
Annae is a complex, multilayered character with a genuine desire to help others. However, she doubts her own abilities and doesn’t want to face the ethical implications of entering other people’s minds—especially without their consent. As a result, her good intentions often result in perilous consequences.
The magic itself in The Two Doctors Górski is treated as just another ordinary field of study, subject to the same pressures as real-world academic research. I am impressed by how Isaac Fellman has interwoven this subtle form of magic throughout a realistic, modern-day academic setting.
The Two Doctors Górski is one of the best examples of dark academia that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. All too often, books labeled as “dark academia” fail to capture a realistic portrait of academic life, with students portrayed as overly self-confident, pretentious, and edgy. In The Two Doctors Górski, Isaac Fellman has captured a more authentic view of the struggles faced by graduate students.
Graduate advisors are in a position of almost unquestioned authority over their students, and unfortunately this authority can be abused. Fellman skillfully captures the psychological impact of such abuse, which ranges from everyday bullying to sexual exploitation.
The Two Doctors Górski also brilliantly addresses the issue of imposter syndrome. As the chair of my university’s graduate program with over 200 Ph.D. students, this is by far the most common issue that I have seen amongst our students. Imposter syndrome—the persistent doubting of one’s own abilities and feeling unworthy of one’s achievements or accolades—has become an almost universal feature of the graduate school experience, especially among female students. On the other side, Marec’s pompous attitude and callous treatment of students is, unfortunately, reflective of some faculty members with overinflated egos.
The Two Doctors Górski is a highly original work of fiction, unlike anything I’ve ever read. The closest comparison I can think of is The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky, in which the main character encounters his doppelgänger who possesses all the charm and good social skills that he lacks. Dostoevsky’s theme of split identity is clearly mirrored by the title characters in The Two Doctors Górski but is also reflected in a more subtle way with Annae as she leaves her own consciousness to enter the minds of others. This theme is also apparent in the name Annae, which Marec dismisses as just being the plural of Anna.
The author went through his own struggles with identity during and after the writing of this novel, explaining, “I wrote this book before I came out as a trans man, and my own experiences of being seen this way—as someone not a woman, but presenting as one—heighten Górski’s sense of paranoia and dread.”
Isaac Fellman’s well-polished and lyrical prose creates a hauntingly atmospheric mood throughout The Two Doctors Górski. Annae’s ability to enter other people’s minds offers a clever narrative tool for the author to switch points of view amongst various characters. I was particularly moved by the scene in which Fellman gives a physical manifestation of the crippling anxiety experienced by Annae’s classmate, Torquil, and the hollowness that is left behind in the absence of his fears.
Isaac Fellman earns bonus points for his myriad of subtle allusions throughout the book. I particularly appreciate the reference to the indie rock pioneers Neutral Milk Hotel and their opus, “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” which serves as Annae’s ringtone and contains a lyric directly relevant to the story: “Anna’s ghost all around / Hear her voice as it’s rolling and ringing through me.”
The Two Doctors Górski is literary fantasy at its finest, a deeply contemplative and multilayered novel that explores the real psychological struggles of identity, imposter syndrome, and the trials of academic life.
The Two Doctors Górski by Isaac Fellman is an introspective masterpiece of low fantasy, exploring questions of identity, mental illness, and toxic relationships in higher education.
The main character, Annae Hofstader, is a 27-year-old Ph.D. student who escapes an abusive relationship with her thesis advisor at the University of California by transferring to Brandford University in England. As the only female graduate student in her program, Annae feels self-conscious and isolated.
Annae’s field of study is magic, which is viewed as both a science and an art. While her peers focus primarily on botanical applications of magic, Annae hopes to use her magical skills to cure mental illness. To aid in this endeavor, Annae has acquired the ability to enter the consciousness of other people, reading their innermost thoughts. Although she seeks to help others, she often finds herself slipping into nearby minds to escape her own troubles and insecurities.
Annae’s new advisor at Brandford University, Dr. Marec Górski, is highly accomplished in the magical arts, but also heartless and temperamental. Marec’s cruelty runs deep. Wishing to free himself from guilt over his offensive treatment of others, Marec uses his magical skills to excise the benevolent aspects of his personality, creating another Dr. Górski in the form of a homunculus named Ariel. While Marec is a university professor specializing in magic, Ariel becomes a psychologist. With her own research, Annae wishes to span both these fields represented by the two Doctors Górski, using magic-enhanced psychological manipulation to heal mental sickness.
Annae is a complex, multilayered character with a genuine desire to help others. However, she doubts her own abilities and doesn’t want to face the ethical implications of entering other people’s minds—especially without their consent. As a result, her good intentions often result in perilous consequences.
The magic itself in The Two Doctors Górski is treated as just another ordinary field of study, subject to the same pressures as real-world academic research. I am impressed by how Isaac Fellman has interwoven this subtle form of magic throughout a realistic, modern-day academic setting.
The Two Doctors Górski is one of the best examples of dark academia that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. All too often, books labeled as “dark academia” fail to capture a realistic portrait of academic life, with students portrayed as overly self-confident, pretentious, and edgy. In The Two Doctors Górski, Isaac Fellman has captured a more authentic view of the struggles faced by graduate students.
Graduate advisors are in a position of almost unquestioned authority over their students, and unfortunately this authority can be abused. Fellman skillfully captures the psychological impact of such abuse, which ranges from everyday bullying to sexual exploitation.
The Two Doctors Górski also brilliantly addresses the issue of imposter syndrome. As the chair of my university’s graduate program with over 200 Ph.D. students, this is by far the most common issue that I have seen amongst our students. Imposter syndrome—the persistent doubting of one’s own abilities and feeling unworthy of one’s achievements or accolades—has become an almost universal feature of the graduate school experience, especially among female students. On the other side, Marec’s pompous attitude and callous treatment of students is, unfortunately, reflective of some faculty members with overinflated egos.
The Two Doctors Górski is a highly original work of fiction, unlike anything I’ve ever read. The closest comparison I can think of is The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky, in which the main character encounters his doppelgänger who possesses all the charm and good social skills that he lacks. Dostoevsky’s theme of split identity is clearly mirrored by the title characters in The Two Doctors Górski but is also reflected in a more subtle way with Annae as she leaves her own consciousness to enter the minds of others. This theme is also apparent in the name Annae, which Marec dismisses as just being the plural of Anna.
The author went through his own struggles with identity during and after the writing of this novel, explaining, “I wrote this book before I came out as a trans man, and my own experiences of being seen this way—as someone not a woman, but presenting as one—heighten Górski’s sense of paranoia and dread.”
Isaac Fellman’s well-polished and lyrical prose creates a hauntingly atmospheric mood throughout The Two Doctors Górski. Annae’s ability to enter other people’s minds offers a clever narrative tool for the author to switch points of view amongst various characters. I was particularly moved by the scene in which Fellman gives a physical manifestation of the crippling anxiety experienced by Annae’s classmate, Torquil, and the hollowness that is left behind in the absence of his fears.
Isaac Fellman earns bonus points for his myriad of subtle allusions throughout the book. I particularly appreciate the reference to the indie rock pioneers Neutral Milk Hotel and their opus, “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” which serves as Annae’s ringtone and contains a lyric directly relevant to the story: “Anna’s ghost all around / Hear her voice as it’s rolling and ringing through me.”
The Two Doctors Górski is literary fantasy at its finest, a deeply contemplative and multilayered novel that explores the real psychological struggles of identity, imposter syndrome, and the trials of academic life.
October 5, 2022
This novella was a brilliant concept that was somewhat lacking in execution. It falls into the trap I sometimes have with novellas - this being fleshed out more could have made it brilliant. But besides length, there were other problems. The main thing being that the main character's primary movement throughout the story is to sit in a room alone and listen to people's thoughts. It made for very boring reading. Then all of a sudden, a bunch of ridiculous shit happens at the end that feels unearned and poorly elaborated on, and then its over. I also don't think the concept of the two doctors was fleshed out in a believable way. Which is a shame because the central idea - that someone could remove all the unwanted parts of themselves and put them into a clone - is awesome.
December 9, 2022
She was prepared to be afraid of Marec, because she was already afraid of everyone; she'd had practice. What more did he have to offer her in the night market of fear, when she was the richest woman in the world and already owned it all?
But, well. Despite all of it, there was magic attached to his name. Not real magic, but ordinary magic, a medieval touch that illuminated the initial M and G with red and gold. He had been great and he had been finished at thirty, like all the great ones, and there was a magic in that too. The lure of him was the lure of any finished thing: you could look at him and see his full story, with ending.
I seem to be hitting a patch of books that just can't quite stick the landing. I really, really, enjoyed this - but it didn't quite get to where I felt it needed to get.
To start with the good though, this is beautifully written, and hits that note of subdued magical realism that I love so much, and that is incredibly hard to pull off. Annae is intriguing, and her backstory is believably painful - there's an authenticity to the way it's presented. I was also just so wrapped up in the prose that I was happy to overlook the slightly montage-y feeling of her studies.
But despite the amazing writing, the ending was a letdown for me. It's not uncommon in novellas and shorts - the story either went too far, or not quite far enough, but it's not comfortably finished at the length it is. There's a lack of conclusion, which works sometimes, but here it just felt abrupt.
On the other other hand though, this still got four stars. There's just so much the author gets right along the way, beautifully written insights that felt authentic and important. So win some, lose some, but on balance this was more than worth the time for me - ymmv.
But, well. Despite all of it, there was magic attached to his name. Not real magic, but ordinary magic, a medieval touch that illuminated the initial M and G with red and gold. He had been great and he had been finished at thirty, like all the great ones, and there was a magic in that too. The lure of him was the lure of any finished thing: you could look at him and see his full story, with ending.
I seem to be hitting a patch of books that just can't quite stick the landing. I really, really, enjoyed this - but it didn't quite get to where I felt it needed to get.
To start with the good though, this is beautifully written, and hits that note of subdued magical realism that I love so much, and that is incredibly hard to pull off. Annae is intriguing, and her backstory is believably painful - there's an authenticity to the way it's presented. I was also just so wrapped up in the prose that I was happy to overlook the slightly montage-y feeling of her studies.
But despite the amazing writing, the ending was a letdown for me. It's not uncommon in novellas and shorts - the story either went too far, or not quite far enough, but it's not comfortably finished at the length it is. There's a lack of conclusion, which works sometimes, but here it just felt abrupt.
On the other other hand though, this still got four stars. There's just so much the author gets right along the way, beautifully written insights that felt authentic and important. So win some, lose some, but on balance this was more than worth the time for me - ymmv.
August 28, 2023
i love finishing a book and having absolutely no thoughts!!
read as part of 202-Queer 🌈✨
read as part of 202-Queer 🌈✨
July 6, 2024
A gorgeous hate letter to academia. I got hooked and didn’t want to put it down.
December 27, 2022
This didn't capture my imagination or blow me away like Fellman's earlier 2022 book, Dead Collections, but it did have similarly beautiful writing and insights, as well as a unique magical conceit. It's a meandering type of novel that mostly takes place in people's minds -- literally, in that the main character, Annae, is a mind reader who can't bear to be alone with herself. The novel begins with her move to the UK where she is hoping to finish her PhD in magic after having been manipulated, emotionally abused, and sabotaged by her former supervisor / boyfriend. Fellman weaves in the magical element subtly and effortlessly, as if it's just another facet of reality as we know it. The title refers to a rare magical feat of splitting yourself into two people to excise all the aspects of your personality you don't want; this concept and Annae's journey didn't quite gel for me.
June 20, 2023
Annae is a PhD student, a brilliant researcher, and a survivor of academic abuse. She is forced to leave the US when her former mentor claims her research and ruins her name (after sleeping with her). They work in a small field, advanced magic so complex it feels almost more like science, so Annae transfers to a university in the UK to complete her degree. There she finds herself in a cohort of entirely male graduate students under a famous but cruel teacher. Her main defense mechanism and invasive habit is reading minds, a kind of compulsive act that lets her see how her peers view her, and themselves. Unsurprisingly, these insights bring her no peace; Annae tries to rebuild her research, but urge to fall into the same traps as her role models is strong. This is a novella, only about 4 hours as an audiobook, and fairly open ended but I'm still thinking about it.
June 15, 2025
I liked it (failed student/professor relationship, random Frankenstein plotline), but it definitely needed more time to cook. The introspection on the FMC's part was so short and felt very last minute.
I wanted more of everything. This is more novel material, not novella. But it is what it is.
I wanted more of everything. This is more novel material, not novella. But it is what it is.
August 17, 2023
This book has made me feel seen in ways that few books have. I’ll have a longer review soon.
RTC.
RTC.
October 24, 2022
Thanks to the publisher (Tordotcom) for the ARC of this book.
Of course I would have read this novella one way or another. Fellman is perhaps one of my favourite authors. The Breath of the Sun and Dead Collections are both some of my all-time favourites. I’d read anything he writes. The Two Doctors Górski was not quite as enjoyable – it’s a high bar! – but it was still a great, if heavy read in Fellman’s usual understated style.
Escaping academic abuse by an influential professor, Annae’s last chance to complete her PhD in psychology-related magic seems to be studying in England under the infamously rude but brilliant Dr. Marec Górski, who is famous for having made a homunculus called Ariel. She also cannot stop herself from reading minds.
As you can imagine, while it may be short, it’s not in any way a light read. Annae in many ways jumps out of the frying pan into the fire – her former professor Jonathon has abused her through their romantic relationship, but Marec…isn’t great either, just awful in a different way. He ignores her, belittles her, and as with the other female students he had before, tries to do anything to break her and make her quit. It doesn’t help that he caught her trying to read his mind.
Like in Dead Collections which treats vampirism as a chronic illness, the magic aspect is also treated as something entirely commonplace, something you learn as a child and can later study at university. Very downplayed, though I wonder how much of that is because of Annae’s trauma. But both mundane made magical and magical made mundane have always interested me.
I can see why someone might find it boring or underdeveloped or without enough sense of wonder, but for me it worked.
Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 4.5/5
Recommended to: dark academia fans, those who like fantasy with a more down to Earth approach, prose lovers, those looking for an autistic protagonist
Not recommended to: those looking for a light read or more flashy/wondrous magic
Content warnings: a very heavy one for abuse
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
Of course I would have read this novella one way or another. Fellman is perhaps one of my favourite authors. The Breath of the Sun and Dead Collections are both some of my all-time favourites. I’d read anything he writes. The Two Doctors Górski was not quite as enjoyable – it’s a high bar! – but it was still a great, if heavy read in Fellman’s usual understated style.
Escaping academic abuse by an influential professor, Annae’s last chance to complete her PhD in psychology-related magic seems to be studying in England under the infamously rude but brilliant Dr. Marec Górski, who is famous for having made a homunculus called Ariel. She also cannot stop herself from reading minds.
As you can imagine, while it may be short, it’s not in any way a light read. Annae in many ways jumps out of the frying pan into the fire – her former professor Jonathon has abused her through their romantic relationship, but Marec…isn’t great either, just awful in a different way. He ignores her, belittles her, and as with the other female students he had before, tries to do anything to break her and make her quit. It doesn’t help that he caught her trying to read his mind.
Like in Dead Collections which treats vampirism as a chronic illness, the magic aspect is also treated as something entirely commonplace, something you learn as a child and can later study at university. Very downplayed, though I wonder how much of that is because of Annae’s trauma. But both mundane made magical and magical made mundane have always interested me.
I can see why someone might find it boring or underdeveloped or without enough sense of wonder, but for me it worked.
Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 4.5/5
Recommended to: dark academia fans, those who like fantasy with a more down to Earth approach, prose lovers, those looking for an autistic protagonist
Not recommended to: those looking for a light read or more flashy/wondrous magic
Content warnings: a very heavy one for abuse
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
May 6, 2025
blegh boring next. fr. i found this because I love dead collections so i thought this would be good but it was a waste of my time. if the book had been any longer i wouldn't have finished it. it was boring and confusing and just like nothing to me. maybe someone who wants to think deeply into books and the morality of life will like it, but i couldnt give a fuck
April 19, 2023
So stark über weite Strecken, aber der Zeitsprung hat mich etwas enttäuscht.
December 5, 2022
An impulse pre-order that turned out to have been a great choice indeed. There is so much about this novella that was transfixing and simply perfect on a sentence level - the introspection, the mood, the characters. All the same, I didn't feel like it was complete - it left me wanting more or feeling like the surface has only been scratched and I don't yet know what the point was of everything.
But: I read it in one sitting, which is rare for me.
(It's strange, reading two texts about the unfulfilled promise of university in the space of a few weeks.)
But: I read it in one sitting, which is rare for me.
(It's strange, reading two texts about the unfulfilled promise of university in the space of a few weeks.)
March 24, 2023
It was doing something.
November 22, 2022
The Two Doctors Górski is one of those novellas you finish with the most satisfying feeling of ‘what the absolute fuck did I just read’. A deep exploration into the themes of academic abuse, trauma, and survival. How far would you go, if you could magically remove the ability to feel fear and anxiety, to hone your mind for a life of academics by removing every distracting emotion? How would mentally be changed?
We see this story played out through the eyes of Annae, a brilliant magician whose previous student-advisor relationship was the very textbook definition of advisor abuse. Who’s fled from the US to the UK, to the only (also notorious) advisor who was willing to take her, in one last-ditch attempt at completing her PhD. I found Annae’s POV fascinatingly introspective. This novella is built on character work, between Annea and her interactions, mostly with Torquil, her fellow labmate with his own tortured insecurities, and her infamous advisor Marec Górski. There’s this strong sense of discomfort and paranoia deliberately written throughout this novella, where it’s clear all three characters are broken, messed up people, with parts quite literally missing. It’s also hands down one of the most interesting reads of this year.
The narration style, while mostly told from Annae’s POV, has passages that quite literally dive into other characters’ heads for stream-of-consciousness segments, with an honesty that so nicely contrasts with Annae’s own dubious narration. The magic system is equally fascinating, one somewhat reminiscent of the magic system in The Atlas Six, albeit significantly more ‘holy shit what the fuck why would you do that’ in application. Also, I haven’t totally figured it out, but I’m so down for this weird little pseudo-platonic self-hate-cest relationship that’s going on. Overall, I rate this book a 4.5/5.
___
Definitely falls under the category of "the fuck did I just read" but I am fascinated by the pseudo-platonic self-hate-cest relationship. The dark academia vibes were certainly immaculate
We see this story played out through the eyes of Annae, a brilliant magician whose previous student-advisor relationship was the very textbook definition of advisor abuse. Who’s fled from the US to the UK, to the only (also notorious) advisor who was willing to take her, in one last-ditch attempt at completing her PhD. I found Annae’s POV fascinatingly introspective. This novella is built on character work, between Annea and her interactions, mostly with Torquil, her fellow labmate with his own tortured insecurities, and her infamous advisor Marec Górski. There’s this strong sense of discomfort and paranoia deliberately written throughout this novella, where it’s clear all three characters are broken, messed up people, with parts quite literally missing. It’s also hands down one of the most interesting reads of this year.
The narration style, while mostly told from Annae’s POV, has passages that quite literally dive into other characters’ heads for stream-of-consciousness segments, with an honesty that so nicely contrasts with Annae’s own dubious narration. The magic system is equally fascinating, one somewhat reminiscent of the magic system in The Atlas Six, albeit significantly more ‘holy shit what the fuck why would you do that’ in application. Also, I haven’t totally figured it out, but I’m so down for this weird little pseudo-platonic self-hate-cest relationship that’s going on. Overall, I rate this book a 4.5/5.
___
Definitely falls under the category of "the fuck did I just read" but I am fascinated by the pseudo-platonic self-hate-cest relationship. The dark academia vibes were certainly immaculate
September 2, 2022
A haunting, smart, and very nuanced story about academia, and academic abuse, and what would happen if we could take out the parts of ourselves that cause us pain. Highly recommended, especially for anyone who likes Jekyll and Hyde, anyone who has a complicated relationship with academia (and especially anyone who either loves or hates it), dark academia fans, and anyone who likes books that deal with the intersections of science and magic.
This was, all in all, just excellent. The characters were very real, very flawed, and deeply compelling, universally. The world was intriguing, and the world building walked the line of “not too much” and “not too little” information perfectly, which is a really hard thing to do in a novella. The plot was engaging and really thoughtful.
My single qualm: I found the pacing a little uneven and the story felt like it fizzled a little bit at the end - there were plot aspects that I didn’t feel were satisfyingly resolved, though I actually suspect that may have been a purposeful move on the author’s part. It certainly wasn’t enough to make me knock the book down a star, though I wish it had kept up the momentum it had at the beginning a little more consistently.
All in all, a really excellent read, and highly recommended. thank you so much to Tor and Netgalley for the e-ARC!
This was, all in all, just excellent. The characters were very real, very flawed, and deeply compelling, universally. The world was intriguing, and the world building walked the line of “not too much” and “not too little” information perfectly, which is a really hard thing to do in a novella. The plot was engaging and really thoughtful.
My single qualm: I found the pacing a little uneven and the story felt like it fizzled a little bit at the end - there were plot aspects that I didn’t feel were satisfyingly resolved, though I actually suspect that may have been a purposeful move on the author’s part. It certainly wasn’t enough to make me knock the book down a star, though I wish it had kept up the momentum it had at the beginning a little more consistently.
All in all, a really excellent read, and highly recommended. thank you so much to Tor and Netgalley for the e-ARC!
December 14, 2022
I cannot believe this novella got through the editorial stage. It is 100% not ready for publication.
The Two Doctors Gorski wants to be about a lot of things, but ends up being about absolutely nothing. It's an infuriating book to read. Nothing much happens. Most of the book is comprised of three or four very long, circular conversations. Characters behave absolutely nonsensically, nothing makes any logical sense.
I had the very strong sense there were missing pages somewhere, because none of the dots connect.
To top off the disaster, the book ends incredibly bizarrely. This is supposed to be character growth, or something.
What sucks the most is that lurking in this meaningless trap of a novella are the bones of a very good book. If those missing scenes got added in, if the gaps got filled in, if the meaning the author was striving for actually got injected into the text... This would have been something.
The Two Doctors Gorski wants to be about a lot of things, but ends up being about absolutely nothing. It's an infuriating book to read. Nothing much happens. Most of the book is comprised of three or four very long, circular conversations. Characters behave absolutely nonsensically, nothing makes any logical sense.
I had the very strong sense there were missing pages somewhere, because none of the dots connect.
To top off the disaster, the book ends incredibly bizarrely. This is supposed to be character growth, or something.
What sucks the most is that lurking in this meaningless trap of a novella are the bones of a very good book. If those missing scenes got added in, if the gaps got filled in, if the meaning the author was striving for actually got injected into the text... This would have been something.
December 27, 2022
A very strange disjointed book that merges the metaphysical with academia and magic. I found it was difficult to relate to the protagonist and while the novella did try to explore the narratives of the main characters, all of the main characters lacked substantial character development. It was interesting how the book took its dark inspiration from gothic classics such as Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde and exploring the cruelness and selfishness of the human psyche. The story ended with a weak conclusion that didn’t leave much for the reader to take with them. While it had a thought provoking premise that had the potential to deliver an enthralling story, it seemed to turn in on itself and left the reader to ethically make their own mind about the characters and their future.
October 19, 2022
This was such an intriguing premise and had so much potential. While I enjoyed the deeply introspective nature of this book, I think it fell into the pitfall that can happen with novellas and that its short length was working against it.
And don't get me wrong. What was executed in just shy of 150 pages was an excellent study on trauma, consent, and agency, and that was incredibly impressive. I just think the characters themselves weren't as fleshed out as they could have been due to the length. And, as a result, the characters couldn't completely carry those more focused aspects of the story in a realistic way.
Tonally, I really enjoyed what I read and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a full length book from Isaac Fellman in the future. This one, unfortunately, just didn't work for me on all levels.
Thank you NetGalley and Tordotcom for the ARC!
And don't get me wrong. What was executed in just shy of 150 pages was an excellent study on trauma, consent, and agency, and that was incredibly impressive. I just think the characters themselves weren't as fleshed out as they could have been due to the length. And, as a result, the characters couldn't completely carry those more focused aspects of the story in a realistic way.
Tonally, I really enjoyed what I read and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a full length book from Isaac Fellman in the future. This one, unfortunately, just didn't work for me on all levels.
Thank you NetGalley and Tordotcom for the ARC!
December 15, 2022
No doubt, this is an odd book. But I could not put it down and at one point thought this story makes absolutely no sense but also makes all the sense in the world. So well written while tackling big, complex ideas. I like that this book pulled me in from the start, forcing me to revisit my own time in post graduate studies. I’m sure I will reread this so I can get a better sense of the plot, which, although ambiguous at times, becomes quite twisted and wholly unforgettable. Great, weird novella.
May 8, 2023
Dark academia with magic studied as a science field.
January 17, 2024
I can’t tell whether I loved it, liked it, or if I thought it was just okay
December 20, 2022
A wacky little novella that I feel is one big metaphor for the things we let kill our spirit. The things we put our best into and what gets the leftovers. Our finite capacity for goodness. Very dreamlike with an imaginative idea of a world where magic is within our grasp, made for an enjoyable one sitting read.
October 30, 2023
Dark and thoughtful! I deeply enjoyed this.
November 22, 2022
I went into this book completely blind, intrigued by the premise of trauma and how this affects people. I did not read the synopsis, so I had no idea magic was involved, but it all clicked and made sense instantaneously. I loved the idea of Annae being unable to stop reading minds as a defence mechanism. As the reader, I also found peace when I was outside of what Annae was feeling, just a passenger in someone else’s life. And isn’t that literature in the first place, a way of escapism?
I will admit, however, that the first half works better than the last, the premise being too vast for what the ending can achieve, but it is so well written (Isaac Fellman’s writing is mesmerizing, hypnotic), that it does not end with a sour taste, just the feeling of emptiness, of maybe having lost some meaning along the way.
Did I like the story? I am still debating with myself, trying to disentangle the message that I know I must be missing. It is a mixed feeling. Would I recommend the book? I will definitely try, and maybe it will be for selfish reasons, because I want to talk about it with someone else, see if they found something different. I definitely need a catharsis for these last days of reading.
I will admit, however, that the first half works better than the last, the premise being too vast for what the ending can achieve, but it is so well written (Isaac Fellman’s writing is mesmerizing, hypnotic), that it does not end with a sour taste, just the feeling of emptiness, of maybe having lost some meaning along the way.
Did I like the story? I am still debating with myself, trying to disentangle the message that I know I must be missing. It is a mixed feeling. Would I recommend the book? I will definitely try, and maybe it will be for selfish reasons, because I want to talk about it with someone else, see if they found something different. I definitely need a catharsis for these last days of reading.
November 2, 2022
Thanks to Tor and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Honestly this was such a compelling novella? Annae felt like such a /real/ character in terms of her compulsions and fears and problems, and the way that magic existed as a sort of... strange academic science was so appealing.
I loved it as a meandering work on emotions and academia and the way that abuses of power in academia can twist you up so much. Also the way that mind-reading was done in it made me holler... The idea of it as a compulsion, an itch you can't scratch of just wanting to /know/ what other people think of you or wanting to escape your own mind for a bit really hit home in a really potent way.
Honestly this was such a compelling novella? Annae felt like such a /real/ character in terms of her compulsions and fears and problems, and the way that magic existed as a sort of... strange academic science was so appealing.
I loved it as a meandering work on emotions and academia and the way that abuses of power in academia can twist you up so much. Also the way that mind-reading was done in it made me holler... The idea of it as a compulsion, an itch you can't scratch of just wanting to /know/ what other people think of you or wanting to escape your own mind for a bit really hit home in a really potent way.
January 30, 2024
So: it's in the now, but with magic. Actual, working magic, which yields observable results, and which has been around for ages... and has had surprisingly little impact on the world, apparently. And Harry Potter is a thing there as well, which would seem... rather pointless? Still, I can overlook the iffy worldbuilding, this isn't a story about the world, it's about people living in it. And that is definitely a good 'un, a little tense, a little tender, a little brutal. A gathering of damaged goods.
Still: if you want a Polish-descended character, do let him have a proper Polish first name, not a misspelled one (especially considering how Doctor Górski is triggered by weirdly spelled names). Ugh.
Still: if you want a Polish-descended character, do let him have a proper Polish first name, not a misspelled one (especially considering how Doctor Górski is triggered by weirdly spelled names). Ugh.
December 1, 2022
I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW predatory behavior from a mention/academic abuse, self harm, fire, fatal illness
This is an odd book but I liked it! Annae is a slightly cold, detached character that's still sympathetic enough to be interesting. I like the concept of using mind reading to escape her own head/life, in the way that someone struggling with trauma may try to find escape from their situation.
Fellman also does "mundane yet magical" very well, and that shows here. I enjoyed magic being viewed in this academic sense, as a kind of science. There's a nice blend, in the way that these things don't always actually go together. The bumps in the road are just as necessary as the initial combination.
However, this book felt either like a short story that's been stretched a bit far, or a novel that was compressed. The pacing and the amount of detail is just off enough to not have quite worked.
TW predatory behavior from a mention/academic abuse, self harm, fire, fatal illness
This is an odd book but I liked it! Annae is a slightly cold, detached character that's still sympathetic enough to be interesting. I like the concept of using mind reading to escape her own head/life, in the way that someone struggling with trauma may try to find escape from their situation.
Fellman also does "mundane yet magical" very well, and that shows here. I enjoyed magic being viewed in this academic sense, as a kind of science. There's a nice blend, in the way that these things don't always actually go together. The bumps in the road are just as necessary as the initial combination.
However, this book felt either like a short story that's been stretched a bit far, or a novel that was compressed. The pacing and the amount of detail is just off enough to not have quite worked.
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