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Parts of the book reminded me of One Hundred Years of Solitude, which I love, but more full-on fantasy epic than magical realism, although it does give that vibe. It's a bit more fairytale like, or rather folk-tale like, in a way. The world building was very unique and interesting, too, based on filipino folklore which is not something I'm very familiar with. The characters were well-built (though I wished we delved more into their interiority and their thoughts), and the ending was satisfying and I love that it's a standalone. Full conclusion in one book babey!!
Now the things I didn't like so much, yeah, it got a bit draggy at some points, especially the "final battle". The action was fine but at some points I was like. Let's get on with the story, please T_T. Also, there are long, vivid descriptions of gore and body horror that felt a bit. Much. Not in the sense that it squicked me, but more so that it got boring after a while, like, sure, yeah, piss and shit and flesh okay, now what. A bit too much like the author was trying too hard to write something shocking or gross. Idk. I just wish we spent more time with the characters instead of this.
Also the whole plot is just a lot of bad stuff happening and I felt there were not enough moments that let me breathe during the narrative. There were some, but they were few and far between and always tainted because you knew there was some shit coming, so at some point the emotional impact of things going wrong got lessened, ngl.
I'd say it's still definitely worth reading at least for what it does well and for the writing, but I understand it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, War
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Incest, Rape
‘There is always a reason.’”
The Spear Cuts Through Water is a book of speculative fiction/fantasy truly unlike anything I’ve ever read before, the closest comparison I can draw being to N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy. The book is a wonder in creative writing, bouncing between first, second, and third POV narration and weaving together minor characters and stories in unpredictable ways. On multiple occasions, I was pulled from the story in sheer wonder of how Jimenez achieved 520 pages in this style. The writing was incredibly detailed and often times gut wrenchingly beautiful.
However, that detailed writing also led to the darker aspects of the plot of this book being inescapable and at some points nauseating for me. The gore, the cannabilism, the violence, the human despair and desecration. It was all a bit much and I almost DNFed the book. I persevered because I’d seen multiple reviewers say this was their favorite fantasy book ever and unfortunately that just wasn’t the case for me. The graphic nature paired with the “you’ll figure the writing out after the first 100 pages” paired with the fact that I actually didn’t feel invested in the main storyline that much led me to feel overall meh about this.
As someone who’s never really set a book down solely because of content warnings before I definitely say please! read the content warnings before diving into this one.
3.5 ⭐️ Rounded Up.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, War
Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Vomit
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Rape
Highly recommend the audiobook, as it adds to this oral tradition and this feeling of being told a story. Joel de la Fuente does a beautiful job portraying all the emotions of the characters, and makes all the little testimonies from everyone feel so real.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Torture, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, War
Minor: Child death, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, War
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Grief, Alcohol
Someone in the club referred to it as a dream within a play within a myth, and that's the best I can describe it. The writing is fantastic, the mythology raw, and the romance subtle and beautiful. I love the chorus elements. I love the weave of the different narratives. I loved this book. It took me a long while to get through because it really required my whole attention to read which is a hard for me to do these days, but boy is it worth it.
If you're in need to trigger warnings, I'd take the ones on this book with a grain of salt. While they are all definitely true, the book is rarely graphic and only one scene actually disturbed me (looking at you, Second Terror).
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Colonisation
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Police brutality, Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping
Graphic: Death, Gore
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Incest, Suicide, Torture, Cannibalism
Minor: Rape