Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Den femte årstiden by N.K. Jemisin

124 reviews

bestdressman's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A phenomenally diverse book from racial, ethnic, and queer standpoints, N. K. Jemison manages to casually weave all of these elements together in a normalized background to the greater science fiction that is the Stillness. I felt transported into the world in a deep and imaginative way. I love when I can read fiction in a way that makes me feel I could study the history of a world for years and still not understand it, and Jemisen's worldbuilding ABSOLUTELY does this. For the first time as a white reader, I noticed I was envisioning most characters as people of color, and the deep storytelling that occurred along the way brought me to tears. It's wild that I haven't read this until now, and I wish I had been handed something like this FAR earlier in my life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Child death

somewhat detailed torturous description of individuals with superhuman abilities being medically incapacitated and used as tools

brief scene in which a mother kills her own child for self-preservation and prevention of child slavery

emilyplun's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Pregnancy

I'm not being overly cautious with all the CW labels; there are a LOT of really heavy themes in this book

deinonychus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Violence, and Grief

kaimetcalfe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy

cadence99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Wow. What a fantastic book. The world building here is SO rich and well done. Both heartbreaking and intriguing, I can’t wait to continue the series 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy

billigk's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

one of the best series openers i’ve read in a very long time. the influences of morrison and butler are so evident and make this one especially gut wrenching for fans of those two.

nearly from the moment syenite mentions forced childbearing you know how the book will end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Torture

codyboteler's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! So much that I bought the second in the series before I finished this. It’s kind of weird but in a really satisfying way. This is my second Jemisin book and I intend to keep reading her work. 
Some parts are written in second person…which I don’t hate? But I am still coming to terms with. 
There was one twist that I found deeply satisfying, and then another that I found, eh, less satisfying. But it wasn’t something that made me stop reading, by any means. Really great intro to a trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

dustjacket_fullofmonsters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, and Torture

Minor: Cannibalism

bookslumper's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Police brutality

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Excrement, and Colonisation

jessthanthree's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Pedophilia, Rape, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, and Classism