Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

100 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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: Classism, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexism, Xenophobia, Torture, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Misogyny, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Gore, Confinement, War, Cultural appropriation, Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Vomit, Child death, Alcohol, and Addiction

marthadude's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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: Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, War, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Abandonment, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Racism, Body horror, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

codifyy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

I liked the notes at the bottom of the pages. I found them informative and they added an extra level of depth to the story. I liked that each character got their own chapter as a backstory, even though I had to read more about Letty. Ramy deserved better. They all did actually but especially Ramy - he was my favourite. I thought their dynamics and their friendships were interesting and the way their relationship breakdown was foreshadowed added more intimacy to the plot and the message. I have never read a book where the author's opinions are so obvious and I wasn't sure I liked it at first but I think it's necessary for a novel like this to not be as open to interpretation. I loved discovering and learning the origins of words and the interconnectedness of languages - it made me realise there was so much I didn't know. At first, I was slightly confused about how quickly Robin changed mindsets but then it quickly became justified and more understandable, especially when he began to reflect Griffin. Although the ending was tragic, it was also necessary and it made me appreciate Robin and Ramy's relationship even more. I'm glad I read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Slavery, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Toxic friendship, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Racism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Police brutality

Minor: Addiction and War

lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I have such mixed feelings on this one!  I am glad I read it, and it's an important story to be told about colonization and appropriation.  But ultimately, I never cared about any of the characters, so nothing that happened to them affected me, and I wanted more.  Even though the magic system is there, it felt so mundane, like it almost doesn't qualify as a fantasy.  I didn't mind the footnotes; however, there were a few instances of character backstory or development tucked away in them, and I thought that was odd.  Definitely should have been in the main text, as I am sure not everyone read every footnote (I didn't), and footnotes seem a strange place for info about characters. I did love all the parts about the languages and the history of the words.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Death, Drug use, Grief, Misogyny, Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Torture, Abandonment, Addiction, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, War, Colonisation, Genocide, Blood, and Violence

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gore, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Cultural appropriation

xmifeng_'s review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Colonisation

Minor: Misogyny

litbrett's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, and War

fyredragyn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Racism

Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Death

paduckling's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Thematically, this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. The use of language as fuel for colonialism is just so brilliant. Kuang is truly brilliant. However, I feel like this book could have been virtually perfect if it had just had some more editing. The pace felt off a lot, particularly in the third act. I absolutely know that Kuang can write compelling scenes and characters but a good amount felt lackluster. The misuse of a few words throughout the book also felt especially glaring considering the novel’s premise. I also felt that trying to write it as an academic book was 1) inconsistent and 2) got in the way of good characterization. The four main characters had such good bones to them but in the end I didn’t find them as compelling as I wanted to. It’s just ultimately disappointing how stunning this book is for many aspects but falls flat in others for me personally.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, War, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Islamophobia, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia

cheye13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-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

3.0

An incredibly crafted piece of literature. The fantasy elements excellently build the perfect world to set off the spark of this story. 

Reading this felt more like historical fiction than anything else. Events and timelines too closely mirrored real history to leave any true hope throughout the story, but it was still heartening to watch the characters try.

Given the synopsis, I had actually hoped for more focus on the language element, more linguistic theory, whether true or invented. Compelling and important novel nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Suicide, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Colonisation, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Gore, Racial slurs, Grief, and War

Minor: Deportation, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship