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thewillowwood's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Death of parent, Gore, War, Blood, Sexism, Xenophobia, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Rape, Grief, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
billyjepma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Very little actually happens in these pages, which is a problem only exasperated by Sapkowski's inability to write believable women. The interactions that develop Yennefer and Ciri's relationship should be fun and meaningful, considering they make up 2/3s of the series core protagonists at this point. Instead, they often come off as grating, shallow, and full of painfully glaring signs that they're written by a man who doesn't know anything about women. These problems were around in the last two books, too, but now they're actively hurting the story's trajectory and foundation, which sucks. It's cool seeing Ciri go through a series of training montages, but when that's the backbone of your entire story, and you don't know how to write women, you're going to have problems, which is precisely what happens here.
I'm still going to keep going with the series because I am enjoying the worldbuilding, and the many plot threads and tensions teased here have effectively piqued my interest. But I really, really, really need Sapkowski to improve his writing in some pretty crucial areas.
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, War, Torture, and Sexual harassment
chronographia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
(I am starting to feel like the grandson in The Princess Bride, “do we HAVE to have the kissing”—except replace “kissing” with “ambient misogyny.”)
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Bullying, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual content
rachaelbunny's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Death, Grief, Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content and Child abuse