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mkaiww's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Gore, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Bullying, Body horror, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Outing, War, Car accident, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Sexism, Violence, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Child death, Gun violence, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Terminal illness, Classism, Self harm, Blood, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture
theaceofpages'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
4.0
This was a reread for me. I got a strong urge to reread this a little while back and since that feeling didn't want to go away, I decided to dive back into Brockton Bay. Nearly two months later and here we are! I love the world that J.C. McCrae/Wildbow created and how complex the characters are. I love how creative he gets with all the powers and explores their potentials beyond the obvious, surface level applications, particularly as the world breaks more and more and needs increasingly drastic solutions to fix all the new problems that are constantly arising. This may be a long work, but he builds everything up masterfully through the thousands of pages. Are there parts that maybe drag a bit more or feel rushed? Yes. But I think that is also think that's because of how it was originally shared. Does this take away from the enjoyment? No, not really although some parts are less interesting and may need a bit of a push to get through.
This was a reread and I found it interesting as to how my attitudes towards some of the characters changed from the first time around.
This was such a fun (and yet not fun given some of the themes) read. If you are planning on reading it, it is worth remembering that this is largely a first draft. Don't get me wrong, the chapters have clearly been edited (there are no glaring spelling or grammar errors), the continuity is great (with some lovely foreshadowing) and it works fine as a complete work (no glaring plot holes, nothing is seriously broken, etc). Just don't go in expecting 100% polished perfection. It's just a bit wordy at times and it could be cut down to make it more streamlined in parts (although the author did say this would be split into a series if he gets around to publishing it!) and some events could be fleshed out a bit more. That being said, it is a lot better than a lot of the more recent self-published (and even some (small) press, sorry!) works I've come across.
I feel like I should have something more to say about this work given how long and complex it is, but I'm going to leave it here for now. I might come back and add more at some point, but I have a lot I want to say that's difficult to put into words, at least without giving spoilers. Now onto the long list of content warnings!
Some notes on some of the content warnings (all are individually spoilered)
Animal cruelty:
Body horror:
Confinement:
Drug abuse:
Fatphobia:
Fire:
Forced institutionalisation:
Gun violence:
Injury:
Police brutality:
Racism:
Trafficking:
Toxic relationship:
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Gun violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Torture, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, and Gore
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide, Trafficking, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Slavery
Minor: Ableism, Abandonment, Hate crime, Vomit, Genocide, Cancer, Addiction, Body shaming, Car accident, and Infidelity
charmedstray's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Child death, Death, Bullying, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, and Racism
luminifera's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Slavery, Stalking, Classism, Abandonment, Ableism, Cancer, Addiction, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Animal death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Colonisation, Confinement, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Blood, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Rape, Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Racism, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia
It explores a lot of heavy themes. You'll notice I added almost every content warning in the list... It's a long story with many characters and they all have their own trauma. That said, if you can stomach it, it's a very interesting read. I can't recommend it enough.hgspartan98's review
- 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
5.0
If you like clever problem solving then I think you'll like this. If you like gritty urban fiction, you'll like this. If you enjoy fights for survival, you'll like this.
Graphic: Racism, Grief, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Bullying, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Body shaming, Torture, and Body horror
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
carrotmix's review
- 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: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, and Suicide
Minor: Antisemitism
commander_zander's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Incest
Intense graphic focus on creepy spiders & bugs throughout. Many antagonists are serial killers or racists. Many horror tropes are present. Trauma is a primary focus.mckerwan's review
- 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: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Self harm
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
swazwald's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Genocide, and Gore
Moderate: Body shaming, Racism, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Child death, Car accident, Cannibalism, Cancer, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, and Addiction