Leech

in a nutshell: A nameless doctor has been summoned to a remote castle in an icy, barely inhabitable landscape to pick up where their (possibly murdered?) predecessor left off. But. This new doctor is that previous doctor, and also maybe every other doctor on the planet. A hivemind parasite has orchestrated this over a century: meticulously infecting medical professionals and raising generations of doctors to be its perfect hosts. In this way, it has become invaluable to all of humanity (with a certain power over all of humanity) while humanity has no idea it exists. To what end? We’re not sure yet, because the particular doctor/host we are following is distracted by a terrifying discovery in the frozen landscape— evidence of another parasite, whose intentions are also unknown, and our narrator emphatically does not want competition.

the vibes: Crumbling gothic mansion in a post-post apocalyptic world inhabited by a batshit family! BODY HORROR! Cartesian mind games! Indigenous mythologies! Fuck it's cold!

main themes: What if The Brood was seemingly benevolent... until it wasn't? Parasitic relationships of all shapes and colors! The cyclical nature of the oppressive violence of the ruling class, revenge of the colonized, then do it all again in the new, worse world. The philosophical debate of Dualism vs Monism but like, in a fun way. I think, therefore we are!

the writing: The uniqueness of a hivemind narrator was utilized so well, especially to slowly illuminate details of this post-post-apocalyptic world's structure: at any point, the narrative POV could shift to a scene on the other end of the continent, revealing a different culture's mythology, or dip into a governor's hot tub and eavesdrop on the planet's policy debates, fleshing out what kind of societies this hivemind is working within. Ennes manages to imbue humor in these dark spaces by having the hivemind debate, admonish, and tease itself, across the span of the globe, with each doctor occupied with different tasks simultaneously.

Absolutely loved how my allegiances shifted as the narrator's mental acuity sharpened, and the dangers moved from one end of the chess board to the other. The slow drip reveals of the who's and the what's (and occasionally the where's and the why's) made for a maddeningly engaging read.

The batshit family in the dilapidated mansion were fantastic gothic characters each trapped within their own walls and parasitic in their own ways, each attempting to escape while being eaten alive. The mood was desperate, the prospects dire, and yet everyone trudged on in this exceptionally harsh world.

The exploration of how structural worldviews like local mythologies and the voices in our heads came to be, and what they can mean to us, gave the otherwise bleak story a great deal of heart. Plus, there was a wonderfully executed twist halfway through the story, and a delightfully ambiguous ending, both of which I adored. Honestly, going into this one with as little knowledge as possible is the best way to encounter this mystery, so I shan't say more!