Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Celui qui noya le monde by Shelley Parker-Chan

34 reviews

leonormsousa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

good fucking soup. The way that Shelley Parker-Chan writes about people and the relationships they have is just so delicious. I can’t wait to read more from them. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Slavery, Transphobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Classism

kers_tin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and War

Moderate: Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Outing

dananana's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Pregnancy

Minor: Slavery

stephanelli's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

grets_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Grief, and War

Minor: Domestic abuse, Slavery, Kidnapping, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

softanimal's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad tense

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Deadnaming, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, War, and Injury/Injury detail

displacedcactus's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

Given the high rating this book has here on SG (4.49 at the time I'm writing this) it has clearly found its audience. That audience does not, unfortunately, include me.

I'll admit that of the Sapphic Saffron Trifecta, I found She Who Became the Sun to be my least favorite. As such, I was really on the fence as to whether to read this one, but I figured hey, it's a duology, I might as well see things through to the end!

This started out as kind of a mid read for me, but I felt like it could get better. The thing is, I do like Zhu as a character. Yes, she does terrible things. But I found her drive and her absolute joy and confidence in her drive to be refreshing. Too often, we have characters who have to be forced to take action, who constantly whine and complain about it...

Like every single other character in this book. Ok, I exaggerate, but I got tired of the constant moping of Ouyang and Wang. Oh, woe is me, life is pain and darkness, I will make the world hate me as much as I hate it, etc etc etc. On and on and on. There were far too few Zhu chapters to make up for it.

At its heart, this is a story about how messed up toxic masculinity is and how people who fail to live up to a culture's idea of manly virtue can be used, abused, despised, and pigeon-holed.

At its heart it's also a book that is just absolutely chock-full of degrading sex, sado-masochism, torturous death, and long internal monologues about anger and self-hatred.

If you like to watch characters suffer, you will enjoy the heck out of this book. The pages are absolutely soaked with suffering. Personally, I just found it exhausting.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death

anxieteaandbiscuits12's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Shelley Parker-Chan has really knocked it out of the park this time. For anyone who was worried the sequel to She Who Became the Sun wouldn't be as good, or even those who were maybe not as impressed with the first book, I think you will be amazed at He Who Drowned the World. 

The book has a bit of a slow start admittedly. It's tough to follow up the ending of the first book and the crazy choices the characters made. But give it a little bit of time to get reinvested in the world and characters and you'll find that Parker-Chan did an incredible job of building off of where she left off. There are more POVs than before, but I didn't mind the inclusions at all. In fact, this book made me truly appreciate Ouyang's character and his downward spiral. All of the different narrators gave such depth to the main themes of loss, ambition, and what it means to be yourself. 

We see all these become more and more hyperfocused on their "fates", losing themselves and who they used to be in the process. In some ways, their fervent pursuit of the future is just an extension of their fixation on the past that they can't let go. I was fascinated and horrified with the choices these characters made, that simultaneously a character can be cruel and yet undeserving of the cruelty thrust upon them. Madam Zhang, General Ouyang, Wang Baoxiang, and even our original main character, Zhu Yuanzhang all suffer from the same oppressive forces in society and fight back in their own ways, but more often than not end up working with the society that hurt them as they try to defy it. 

If you enjoy character deconstructions, character's descent into self-destruction, and examining the way that a society can hurt different people in the same way, for not belonging or acting within the expectations thrust upon them, this is the book for you.

I also just have to add that my favorite parts were when Ouyang and Zhu interacted, they ended up accidentally being a hilarious comedy duo that really lightened the darker mood of the book haha.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Outing