PositivePop MattersThroughout this portrait of a small republic following a coup, Dovey seems to question whether it’s those who seek power who are already corrupted ... Blood Kin is, like all good fables, deceptively simple. Extraneous details are removed. We have no names, no place names, no national history. The story effectively takes place in an ahistorical, ageographical landscape ... The chapters are brief and to the point. Information and the reader’s understanding accumulate over time, as each part of the puzzle connects with adjoining pieces ... Perhaps Dovey is presenting the simplistic (but common) assertion than a world run by women would be a world without wars ... In this, Dovey’s heavily stylised approach to situation and character does diminish the force of this point.
