Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Rosewater by Tade Thompson

18 reviews

madnabox's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book shifts timelines every chapter. It was very confusing at first, but I got used to it. It uses that time rewind to give the reader information that is pertinent to the plot. I get that it is used to keep the intrigue going, but I really did not like it.

I also did not like Kaaro, the main character. He is arrogant and self centered. Maybe he's like this because he's supposed to be an anti-hero because he's "not the saving the world type." Not my vide.

The writing was good. The world was well thought out. I'm glad it wasn't a cliff hanger ending, because I'm not interested in continuing to read this trilogy any time soon. I'm sure I will, but maybe not this year.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Torture

goosegrimm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

Rosewater is an interesting book. I'm not quite sure its my cup of tea however. I very much enjoyed Thompson's voice and his attention to detail in the setting. His prose is beautiful and really draws you in. However, the narrative is very disjointed and while that serves the overall story quite well, I had difficulty following even with the chapter headings. My suspension of disbelief was also occasionally broken both by the timeline changes and some of the plot points. Overall if you would like a genuinely fascinating sci-fi world to explore, this is a great fit. Just be warned that it can occasionally be difficult to follow despite how beautifully written it is. I am excited to read further works both in the Wormwood trilogy and by Thompson. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Torture, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism

sprigofjuniper's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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? N/A

5.0

rosewater is the first installment in tade thompson's wormwood trilogy. The story is set in nigeria in 2066, and it follows the protagonist kaaro, an agent for section 45 of nigeria's secret government. kaaro is a sensitive, meaning he can access a dimension called the xenosphere in which he reads people's thoughts. each chapter follows kaaro during different influential chapters of his life, from first discovering his abilities to his current work with S45. there's a lot of jumping around, but it isn't confusing; the time skips add context and backstory when we need it, so we aren't overwhelmed by chronology. the story was engaging, and I never felt bored while reading. i wouldn't say kaaro is loveable, but I grew to admire and respect him throughout the book. he's relatable and funny though very private. i loved experiencing how romance influenced his attitude and outlook. i can't wait to get my hands on the next book! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Torture, and Vomit

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

This book was super interesting! I had a weird experience reading it because I did so very slowly and deliberately, which is unusual for me. It was somewhat dark and not entirely what I expected. But I hope to read the rest of the trilogy eventually!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Car accident, Colonisation, and War

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

This is a really unique alien invasion story set in Nigeria in the 2060s, in a city that has built up around an alien biodome that mysteriously heals the sick once per year. The alien has also released a sort of spore into the atmosphere that allows some people to access special abilities like mind reading. The main character is a psychic who (mostly unwillingly) works for the government. His perspective is awful because he's an immature misogynist, but the story itself and the nature of colonization that it exposes are interesting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Cannibalism

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I'm waffling between a 3.5 and a 4 ⭐s on this one. It is a fascinating and wholly original start to a sci-fi series set in Nigeria and following a biological alien lifeform that changes the makeup of Earth itself???? And then there's like people with telepathic powers???? And spy stuff???? And government conspiracies???? And I loved it???? The writing style was definitely different, it took a bit for me to get used to it. Also our MC is not the most likeable of bros. But overall, I enjoyed this immensely and will be continuing the series and reading more from Tade Thompson.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

sabrielsbell's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I just never quite got into this book.  I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator but never found myself liking the characters that much or buying into the story.  It was enjoyable enough to finish but not enough to pick up the second book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

hanz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Despite having an interesting premise, I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. The constant time jumps made the story difficult to follow. The main characters constant sexism and objectification of women made him difficult to root for, and even though some characters describe him as amoral and sexist, there were no real consequences for his actions. He still got everything he wanted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Blood