Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Gideon la Nona by Tamsyn Muir

333 reviews

fairyollie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

2.5

I wish I liked this book more than I did. there is a lot I could say, both good and bad, but I'll try and keep it short and spoiler-free as possible. it was very ambitious, to say the least, as a gothic, sci-fi, fantastical, dystopian, magical, necromantic story.

• Pacing: the pacing was weird and difficult. the plot does not start until about 45-50% through the story, and I found it very difficult to keep reading until then. 
• Humor: there were a LOT of references to memes and very-2016 humor. I was not a fan of this, because abrupt jokes, comments, and references to memes were so out of place for the setting. it also makes it difficult for a book to age well when using humor and jokes from a specific, short-lived time period.
• Characters: I did not particularly care for or find myself rooting, relating to, and enjoying almost any of the characters! their motives, their rationale, their background, were lost or not fully fleshed-out, and certain choices seemed random. just didn't mesh for me.
• Setting: as said above, the first half of the book was slow, and it was not used for world-building or introducing the characters or lore at all. I think more world-building, to better understand who everyone is, what's going on, purpose, lore, how the mecromatic magic system works, anything  - just more of why/what/how, would have really elevated the book more.
• also, this is entirely my bad, as it's literally a book about necromancers, but I don't handle gore very well lol. not a book flaw but a personal skill issue!

I wanted to like this book, and was planning to read this for a very long time, but it just fell short for me. I would recommend this to others, as I know there are many people who would (and do!) enjoy this, but for myself, it was just a difficult, bit juvenile, time. I am happy I finally had the chance to read it, and wish I had enjoyed it more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Grief, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Child death, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Death of parent

valerian_honeybee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Gore, and Suicide

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Genocide, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Minor: Miscarriage, Infertility, and Cannibalism

knightreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Cancer, Vomit, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Confinement, War, and Cannibalism

caelinsullivan's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Terminal illness, Grief, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Suicide, Slavery, and Medical content

insideunder's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Cancer, Death of parent, Body horror, Terminal illness, Child death, Cursing, Gore, Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Medical content, Cannibalism, Classism, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Infertility and War

ezzysweeney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Terminal illness, Cursing, Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror

Moderate: Classism, Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit and War

scarahreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

I liked it but i listened to it as an audio book which I don’t think I recommend. The story was hard to follow and I had to really actively use my brain while listening. It wasn’t hugely engaging. I really enjoyed the main characters. Also 0 romance which I usually like at least a little. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Terminal illness, and Death

Minor: Child death

adbooks20's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Torture, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death, Grief, and Body horror

Moderate: Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Cancer, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide attempt, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Terminal illness

zefancifulreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Holy Hell. 
What an incredible book. 
It’s witty, it’s dark, it’s bloody and I’m absolutely in love. 
It was made even better with Moira Quirk lending voice to this dynamic story. 
I will treasure this first read forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Suicide, and Body horror

Moderate: Vomit, War, Torture, Cannibalism, and Self harm

winged's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Terminal illness, Body horror, and Medical content

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Cancer, Blood, and Cannibalism

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Infertility