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Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Angels Before Man by rafael nicolás

93 reviews

weirdassfanta's review

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dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautifully gruesome.
Unfortunately I hit a reading slump right before starting this, so I feel I didn’t get to savor it as much as I would have otherwise, even so, this is a remarkable, gut wrenching book. Truthfully I have always been a sucker for pomegranate/cannibalism symbolism in love, and this took that part of me and made it into a book. Watching the process of Lucifer being used and toyed with by God and his love for Michael slowly making him realize what abuse he’s been through and him taking a similar power to work towards freeing not just him, but anyone who chooses to follow him. Even when he knows he will not overcome God, and will be punished yet again, he fights so he does not feel trapped under the lies again. The only I have to say is that I dislike the ending, but I do with many books when they tears me to shreds in such a way. I dislike the ending in a way that I am captivated by it. Just don’t expect the fall of Lucifer to be a happy story ig. A book that time and time again left me simply saying, what the fuck.

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caseyreadslol's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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wardenred's review

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emotional 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

2.25

And he looked upon himself, but not for long — still couldn’t meet the features of his face because they could spur a need, this need to take. To grab Lucifer and save him — what is there to save him from, in Heaven?

Well, damn. I’ve seen quite a few positive reviews for this book, and it’s one of those times when I just feel I’ve read a different story? I would love to read the one all those reviewers got, it sounds rad. The one in front of me, though… not so much.

I really like the concept here, to be clear, but sadly not the execution. I guess I may retain a few fond memories about the first half, although it was unbearably slow and full of cardboard cutouts in place of characters. Seriously, most of the angels we meet seem to be there only for the author to go, “wink wink, nudge nudge, see that name? THIS HERE IS A FUTURE DEMON.“ And despite spending all those endless pages there, I’ve still got so many question about why Heaven here is the way it is, or how it functions exactly in many aspect. Also, all those big joyous worshiping scenes made me feel weirdly uneasy, almost on part with the gore and sexual assault from the second half. Still, there were also some nice turns of phrase here, some beats that evoked emotion in positive ways, and an overall feeling of “this set-up is sure lengthy, but whatever’s to come when it pays off looks promising from here.“

And then I reached the second half, and, eh. It got worse. On one hand, the pacing no longer was so abysmally slow, but on the other, it got incredibly patchy. The narrative jumped all over the place. There was a lot more focus on the characters’ reactions to pivotal events than the events themselves, so part of the time I genuinely found it hard to figure out what was going on, or how we transferred from one plot point to another. The sudden introduction of gratuitous headhopping didn’t help matters at all (seriously, *why*). 

My main takeaway from this book sadly is, “I just don’t get it.“ I don’t get why Lucifer’s fall from grace was driven so greatly by shame (I find it interesting, actually! But. The execution. I don’t get it). I don’t get a single thing about God, like what did he even want, what his motivations were, why. I have no idea what most of the characters’ agendas were, if they had any in the first place. I think I maybe see what the author was trying to do, and the ideas are interesting, but the shape they take is just confusing.

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raisinreads's review against another edition

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4.25

they struck my man down for being too gay 😔

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darthulios's review against another edition

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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

This book destroyed me

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jellegolas's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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gooseberry420's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? Yes

4.75


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rmnedder's review

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dark emotional 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

4.5

As a recovering ex-catholic queer... this book was absolutely beautiful. Such a wonderful take on the fall of Lucifer. It's tragic, it's introspective, and it needles you with pointed questions about authority and autonomy. The prose is really imaginative and atmospheric; it literally feels biblical in its nature and scope. Despite the intensity of some of the content, I feel like everything was handled with a lot of grace and care. Lucifer is one of the most interesting, complex characters I've encountered this year; his relationship with the other angels, specifically with Michael, are so tender and impactful. 

My only complaint is that it took me a minute to get truly invested; it started out a little slower than I would have liked, but after the first ~25% it really picked up. Other than that, this was such a fantastic read. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that queerness exists in all corners of mythology.

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wolfst4r's review against another edition

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

4.5


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vivelarevolution's review against another edition

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This book got too dark for me. The sexual assault was off-screen, but the violence used to enact it was not, and the aftermath is also incredibly dark. I don't not recommend this book, but it was just too much for me at this particular time.

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