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chiara_campo's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gore, Body horror, Addiction, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Racism, War, Drug use, and Genocide
Minor: Rape
jukebox1168's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Gore, Addiction, Body horror, Classism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Suicide, Drug abuse, Genocide, Murder, Sexual violence, Self harm, Blood, and War
shottel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The book rests on two interconnected themes. The first: The horrors that occur when humans think they are bigger and more important than they actually are. The second: The line between justice and revenge, and the consequences of pursuing the latter. These themes are explored through bigotry in the form of racism, classism, and sexism (primarily in the first half) and total war (primarily in the second half). It strikes a masterful balance between being too subtle and too outright as the story plays out and revolves around these themes. Neither preachy nor cryptic.
I recommend this book to any fiction reader who can handle the all-too-real depictions of human-inflicted atrocities. [If you’re on the edge, I attempted to be as thorough as I could with my content warnings attached to this review. This is one of the few times I’d actually recommend checking content warnings prior to reading a book.]
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Genocide, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Torture, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Classism, Body horror, Confinement, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Violence
Moderate: Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Grief, Infertility, Excrement, and Pedophilia
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, and Vomit
aspencross's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Murder, War, Kidnapping, Violence, Torture, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Rape, Grief, and Racism
onaquest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Blood, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Murder, and Genocide
kmae314's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Genocide, Drug abuse, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, War, Classism, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Gore, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, and Grief
kirstyn444's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Cursing, Misogyny, Classism, Genocide, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Racism, and Animal death
cryptofauna's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
the characterization and the setting are amazing especially but just everything about this is so so good. so well written with an amazing plot that had such a good mix of expected and unexpected. kept me absolutely hooked the whole time
i didn’t know Kuang’s whole thing was the opium wars (obviously this one but babel too) but i love how in depth the thoughts and research are on this time in history. by focusing on it they get such nuanced takes which then can be applied to the fantasy elements . the historical blends so well with the magic system too
will def be reading the sequels
Graphic: Murder, Violence, War, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
bobthebard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Blood, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Rape, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Violence, Self harm, Torture, and War
jujuleigh's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: War, Body horror, Murder, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Child death, Rape, Child abuse, Drug use, Death, Drug abuse, and Grief