Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

100 reviews

briochebun's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5 out of 5 ☆’s.

“Family names were not things to be dropped and replaced at whim, he thought. They marked lineage; they marked belonging.”

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I’m not sure how to express all of my thoughts on this novel in a way that is comprehensible (my mind is currently filled to the brim with disjointed ramblings) — so I’ll just keep it brief, and state that ”Babel” is truly an unforgettable novel.

ੈ✩‧₊˚

The reason why I gave <i>”Babel”</i> 4.5 stars is because I did have some issues with the general pacing of the middle portion of the novel — but this might just be because I binged the novel and didn’t take many breaks…(😅)

ੈ✩‧₊˚

I am excited to read R.F. Kuang’s future works. ♡

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Suicide, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Blood, Classism, Sexism, Torture, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gore, Grief, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Vomit, Confinement, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual harassment

eliseabril's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: Gore

hedsek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I found this book really gripping, amazingly well written and super insightful. The whole idea of the silver working and the role language plays in it is really interesting and also appeals to me personally as a linguist, and it was clearly very well researched. The overall treatment of how people respond to oppression was also well thought out and I thought it was gripping to read about the different ways in which the main characters dealt with it. However, one thing I really disliked about this book were the footnotes. They served many different goals and it was very unclear from what perspective they were meant. I feel like they also implied that the author didn't really trust readers to understand the difference between fiction and reality and sometimes even that certain racist views expressed by characters are indeed racist and not factually true. This was mostly in the beginning of the book, though, and it did not take away from my enjoyment of the rest of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Grief, Racism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Classism, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Blood, Slavery, and War

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Deportation, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Islamophobia

pulita's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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: Grief and Gore

Moderate: Misogyny and Racism

jo_brekker's review against another edition

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

The chances of you being beaten by a book is low, but never zero.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Classism, Murder, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, and Blood

Moderate: Torture, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Islamophobia

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Police brutality

bookishfaye's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

Speechless 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Bullying, Classism, Death, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, War, Addiction, Blood, Grief, and Slavery

paperquilt's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Alcohol, Slavery, Classism, and Gun violence

Minor: War and Child abuse

jfield351's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious relaxing tense 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? Yes

4.0

It was a very compelling and easy to read book but the ending seemed cut off midway. does this mean there’s a sequel? it was a great read though, very dark academia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Violence, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Gore, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Deportation, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

educatorgams's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.75

This book is well written with developed characters and impeccable world building. However, it’s unvarnished presentation of the British Empire and the Empire’s motivations means it’s not for the faint of heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Xenophobia, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Racism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

mariadanna's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Body horror, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Gore, Grief, and War