This was a weird one, and unfortunately, it didn't quite hit for me. If you would just like some straight up bad post apocalyptic dystopia vibes, this is for you. Unfortunately I just couldn't follow what was happening a solid 60% of the time I read this, and the remaining 30% wasn't enough to hook me. Better try next time?

A challenging read, that nevertheless rewards readers for digging deep into the scenes. I’ve never quite read a book like this, and I love all author didn’t play it safe.

Kree by Manuela Draeger is a haunting, surreal journey through a post-apocalyptic world where death is only the beginning. The protagonist, Kree, is a fierce warrior in a desolate, war-torn landscape, only to find herself trapped in an eerie realm beyond death. The narrative blurs reality and hallucination as Kree struggles against oppressive forces, including the totalitarian Brothers and her own fragmented mind. Draeger’s writing is dreamlike, vivid, and unsettling, drawing readers into a complex, layered world where time and identity twist unpredictably. Kree’s quest for redemption is both a physical and emotional odyssey, blending themes of memory, loss, and transformation. This novel will captivate readers looking for a dark, thought-provoking exploration of life after death and the human spirit’s resilience.

Kree by Manuela Draeger is a fever dream of apocalyptic chaos, reincarnation, and surreal imagery wrapped in a story that somehow feels haunting, confusing, and oddly funny all at once. It follows Kree Toronto, a warrior with an unmatched knack for violence, as she embarks on a quest to avenge her dog, dies (several times), and navigates bizarre afterlives filled with chain-link fences, Marxist monks, and giant rebirth-eggs.

The nonlinear storytelling feels like a puzzle missing several key pieces, but that’s part of the charm—or frustration, depending on your patience. Draeger’s writing is rich in unsettling details (think *The Road* meets *The Holy Mountain*) but doesn’t care much about making things easy for the reader. Just roll with it.

If post-apocalyptic reincarnation stories drenched in existential dread and dark humor sound like your thing, Kree is worth a shot. Just don’t expect to leave the maze with all your questions answered—or even most of them.

I had never read or even heard of post-exotic works before reading this book. It was definitely different from what I usually read. Different, but not in a bad way. I'm going to be frank though... I was confused the majority of the time. Definitely surfing on vibes. The setting of a decayed world was not the escapism I usually look for, but it definitely meshed with my view of the current world (iykyk), so the comparison (and relative similarities) wasn't as jarring as I would have thought. I'm struggling to describe what this book is about actually. It's very difficult to put into words, but I think maybe that was the point?

A fun Mad Max read, Kree does a great job moving the plot along with characters I want to care about. A fun read, need more of this.

this book was definitely not for me. it was one of those books that felt like a chore to read. The writing/prose itself is the only redeeming quality, as it's quite unique in both the narration and dialogues. But everything else feels like they're just haphazardly thrown together without much thought behind it, things happened for no particular reason, and characters and their motivations are never really clear. and so it feels more like a fever dream more than anything else. and if you're the type of reader who likes that kind of story, you should definitely check this one out.

this was… interesting to say the very least. i went into this completely blind so i really didn’t know what to expect. the non linear plot line was not the most ideal for me and maybe the concept was a little bit much. there wasn’t enough solid material for me to grasp but maybe this is the perfect book for someone else. i just didn’t connect with anything and felt really dumb by the end of it.

forever grateful for the arc as always -

DNF. I couldn't get into the writing style or the story, especially since I spent most of it confused.

A dark novel with dense atmospheres and a complex, chaotic plot. This is how *Kree* presents itself to the reader.

Personally, I find that novels like this are captivating when well-crafted, and their intricate plot, with ample room for the inherent chaos of hazy descriptions, is perfect for drawing the reader into the pages. For this book in particular, I believe the work done was masterful. There's a constant tension and a detailed world-building effort that makes the atmosphere unique. I found it very enjoyable, suitable for readers who like to be carried away by sensations without necessarily needing a linear plot in front of them.

This is such an interesting read! I really enjoyed the new apocalyptic world landscape we see in this book. I think the characters are interestingly written, and the plot was good! I liked the quick pace, and how descriptive this book is!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I think the translation needs some more polishing before publishing because there were a lot of "what"s spread out throughout the book that made absolutely no sense, even to me, a non native english speaker. At some point the translator also used "her" instead of "they" when refering to a group.

To be completely honest I finished the book against my will, and only because it was quite short. The reading experience is just not enjoyable, either because the writing becomes very dense at parts (either looooong paragraphs that go on for pages and pages) or "chapters" that are composed of single paragraphs that feel more like lore/worldbuilding thrown on the page rather than actual narration?

Either way, the book requires way too much mental energy to even try to understand what is going on, only to realize that nothing really happens and what little it does happen it not really intelligible. It does feel like a dream though, with it's jumbled timelines, so if that was the goal, it definitely was achieved.

I will post a review of this book on Tik Tok this following week

Kree Toronto is roaming around during a restless time, through apocalyptic type landscapes and among occasional survivors. We get her story in stark flashes and vignettes, unclear sometimes on the chronology.

I ultimately did not finish but made it 61% into the book. The writing is atmospheric, gritty, and each chapter seems to drop the reader somewhere new, at least between sections. Like Kree, it feels like we are kept off balance. I am confused about the use of the word "what" throughout this book; understanding that it was originally written in another language, I do wonder if something was lost in translation. The way the word is pervasively used, but not in a manner that makes sense, makes me feel like it's supposed to mean something else or indicate a dialect of some kind. Ultimately this wasn't for me but I could see those who enjoy cerebral and post apocalyptic stories with futurism enjoying this.

Thank you to University of Minnesota Press for an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published 10/22/24. I'll be posting reviews on our after September 22.

[received an advanced copy from netgalley and university of minnesota press, thank you!]

very dense world-building done in a very approachable way--like taking a small peek into a large, uncomprehensible world! written very beautifully, i'd like to see more of this author's work in the future. 3/5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Univeristy of Minnesota Press for the arc!

Unfortunately couldn´t finish this one. I tried so hard but it was way to confusing, the way the word "what" was used really confused me. I´m not a native english speaker or reader but i do pride myself on being quite advanced when it comes to understanding the language and being able to follow the story and understanding everything. This book made me feel really stupid.

What i did understand i found really interesting and would have loved to know more. Unfortunately my brain could not follow.

This book is highly ambitious. Its focal point is its dark, dismal atmosphere. If you are looking for a book that makes sense, this book is not for you. If you don't mind trudging through the ash and clay of a decaying world (or perhaps several worlds) alongside a woman who is both living and dead, you may find this book to be an ideal companion. Kree has several ideological and abstract threads that connect its chapters and sections. These threads were not always satisfying to me because it didn't feel like there was anything substantial for the threads to string together. The characters are illusory by choice, their behaviors are animalistic, and their motivations are ephemeral. This book has the angry coherency of a fever dream. While I feel it is more ambitious than successful, I can appreciate the many paths Kree tried to take.

Dark, chilling, and more than a little confusing. There doesn’t seem to be a transition or break between when she’s trying to punish the people that killed her dog and when she’s captured.

Kree is an abstract wander through a desolate wasteland left behind after a vaguely described apocalyptic war and environmental crisis. This is the kind of story that is going to connect to a particular kind of reader who enjoys a more abstract and atmospheric type of writing as opposed to the more traditional plot heavy and linear story telling. A lot of the best parts of this book are the descriptions of a dismal grey world that is strange in every conceivable way from the world we live in today. The story and characters are intentionally confusing and bizarre leaving readers disoriented and always guessing if what they are witnessing is real life, the after life, or something in between. It will leave you grappling for understanding both of the plot itself and any underlying themes and messages. The cast of characters are strange and sometimes off putting. The timeline jumps back and forth from life and into death. And none of the mysteries that it establishes are easily answered. Again I think this is the kind of book that people will either really love or really hate completely based on their reading preferences.

Unfortunately for me I am one of those readers who prefers a linear plot. I had an extremely hard time following where the story was going at any given point in time thanks to frequent perspective changes as well as a lot of traveling through different time points and sometimes dipping into environments that were likely hallucinations but never explicitly confirmed to be so. Add to that an open ended ending that honestly created more questions then it answered and I just couldn’t get invested in any of it. The writing style was also something I struggled with and I had to go back and forth through a couple of passages to get a handle on what was actually being written.

This review will be posted onto Goodreads and Instagram closer to the publication date in compliance with the publisher’s request.

Perhaps one of the more approachable novels in the post-exotic universe of Antoin Volodin, Manuela Draeger, Lutz Bassmann and others. I'm always fascinated by the ways in which each of the post-exotic novel tries to invent means to talk about the breakdown of human civilization as it exists now, and I chuckle every time I see Marxist-Leninist Lamaism. Or, perhaps, the bardo of post-exoticism very precisely speaks of where are we at right now with its hallucinatory implosion of spacetime.

What an interesting novel. The world building is great, the characters super interesting in a post apocalyptic world. It’s is pretty bleak, I really enjoyed the author’s writing. Will be checking out more of their books. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.