Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Angels Before Man by rafael nicolás

34 reviews

katbotelho's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.5

What i sit back and think about the beginning of the book and i think about how it ended i think to myself how the fuck did we end up here.

author has a really good way of describing things and made me nauseous when i had to read about the self harm and violence. the beginning is kinda slow but i still enjoyed it. at times it was hard to understand bc their was very little indication of a pov switch but u get used it after a while 

left me with a lot of questions at the end like

how did asmodeus go from running from the orgy in fear to running home to rosier and sexually assaulting him  ??

and

were rosier and asmodeus some if the angels that fell with lucifer bc rosier seemed pretty on board to follow him ?

i guess i’d have to read the second book to find out perhaps. overall i enjoyed it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Animal death

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

regisreed1's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful prose and storytelling. Such an interesting take on the Morningstar/fall of the angels theology-- you know what's coming at the end, but the road there is so lovely you can't stop, and the fall is horrifying. This book devastated me in the best way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

Minor: Sexual content and Self harm

The author splits the narration into sections, and readers can choose not to continue into part three where the majority of these warnings come up. The violence tag is present throughout the novel as the angels play games that cause bodily harm that can be mended, but is gruesome.

naiadtales's review

dark emotional funny sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I'm a bit conflicted on how to rate this book. The first half was some of the most beautiful writing I've read in a while and I enjoyed witnessing Lucifer's growth but the second half was where the confusion comes in. I understand that it may have been written this way to depict Lucifer's declining mental state but boy was it still hard to follow along. Also some of the choices/paths that the characters took were so nonsensical to me it felt like I was reading 3 different books

Asmodeous raping rosier?? Why ? I get the corruption but I felt like it was already alluded to that they had this kind of relationship from the jump so why was this necessary?

 

I enjoy stories where non-humans are showcased doing human things and I this was one of the things I enjoyed about ABM. It was cool watching the angels discover themselves and jumping through dozens of hobbies in a bid to pass the time. Another thing I enjoyed was the snippets we got of the time before realization(that may not be the correct phrase) but the stories that we got from the time of the first angels like Uriel (who should honestly needs to get a damn life). It was sad though that these bits came between mentions of other events and was in some cases such a jarring jump from what was actually happening.

My favorite scene is when Rosier admits to never having seen god, or even given much consideration to his existence. He just knows that he is real because of all the splendor that he sees.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Rape

ash_trys'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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Rape, Gore, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Grief

angelie_jelly's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

brdiaz1123's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, War, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Toxic friendship and Cannibalism

axel_p's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I am so torn between loving this book and hating it.
Lucifer had some great ideas but some of his other ideas were less ideal.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, War, Child abuse, Blood, Dysphoria, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence

ash_tree's review

slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, and Violence

graygarrido's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

In honor of Angels & Man releasing in 2024 I decided to reread Angels Before Man. This was one of my top reads of 2023 and as you can probably tell, one that has followed me into 2024. This Queer retelling of The Fall of Lucifer is as much of an open w*und of religious tr*uma as it is a celebration of queer joy, queer love, & queer bodies. 

Rafael Nicolás does an incredible job at making a story both light & full of achingly sweet tenderness & in the same chapter explore the darkness within Religion & the harmful ways in which Religion can be taught to young minds. 

One of my favorite themes was of queer identity & the queer Body & its relationship (or lack thereof) with Catholicism. How in this version of Paradise we are shown bodies of all shapes and sizes. Masculine and feminine blur together to create something entirely new, bodies decadently dressed in jewels from head to toe and covered in delicate fabrics. 

I saw so much of my young queer self in Lucifer and Michael. The questions, the doubts, the love, the resentment, and most of all the fear. This book is a balm to my inner queer child, & I truly cannot recommend it enough especially if you were raised Catholic like I was. 

I cannot wait to see what happens next in this world. & with that I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes: 

“So if Lucifer had ever the choice, he might've decided to inspire the Lord's hate, rather than His quiet displeasure. A hand that strikes from the dark is at least proof of a hand. It's kinder to be beaten than to be left untouched.” 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

nerdyspinster's review

dark emotional sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual assault