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kale323's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The Cons: Almost everything else. This book is completely overly ambitious. While many claim that it is Game of Thrones and Hunger Games put together, it fails at replicating both.
First: the main character, Darrow, is a flat, overly hyped up character that is a blank wall of “I’m super cool and I have no flaws that can’t be solved within one, maybe two pages.” Even at the beginning, he hypes himself up for being the best of the best, and it’s clear that he is. But it’s constantly TOLD to you, not shown. Dont tell me to think a character is cool if you haven’t SHOWN me that he’s cool. Which leads me to my next point.
Second: SHOW ME THINGS. DONT TELL ME. Oh my god, this book has fight scenes, conversations, and entire plot relevant sections get boiled down to a few descriptive, “and then they did this,” type of sentences. I wanted to pull my hair out, screaming, “WHY IS THIS NOT BEING SHOWN IN DETAIL. THIS NOT HOW YOU KEEP READERS ENGAGED AND IMMERSED. THIS IS MOVING TOO FAST FOR ME TO CARE,” which brings me to my last point.
Third: The pacing. Dear god. The pacing was absolutely terrible. It takes until half, yes, HALF, of the book until we reach the main story hook. HALF OF THE BOOK IS EXPOSITION??? HALF??? And on top of that, it has no real rising climax, and no real climax at all. At the very least, it’s hard to distinguish when the climax is, from the rest of the book. Abysmal.
Look, when it’s good, it’s good. The worldbuilding is fun, and some of the ideas are intriguing. And some of the characters (not the main one) were fun to read about. These were all enough positives for me not to DNF the book, which is saying something!
Nonetheless, an unrelatable, god-complex main character, tell-not-show writing, and bad pacing are far too much for me to find much value in this book.
Also, the way rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault are handled is very, very poor. At one point, a side character attempts to rape an unknown character. The way it was handled up until a certain point was fine. Justice was being done, and it was a titular moment for the main character to figure out how to handle justice. Interesting story beat!
Then after justice is dealt, the attempted rapist begins to be delivered to the reader as a funny, if not zany character. Wow. Personally, I would like comic relief to not be delivered by an attempted rapist.
I would recommend this book to someone that needs to just sit back and digest a simple story with a few, tidbit, interesting things. But not for anything else.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
lameroe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
veni_vidi_legi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Sexual assault and Cursing
casualk's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Sexism, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and War
Minor: Mental illness, Ableism, and Fatphobia
anna_kp's review
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, War, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
dahlia_maxwell's review
2.25
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child death, Rape, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism and Sexism
stevienotnicks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Darrow is absolutely a character you can rally behind. No, he’s not a perfect hero, but you can definitely see why he took the path he did. The first person narrative really helped this along as the author brought us into Darrow’s inner workings with each decision he made.
We also got the found family aspect that will always suck me in. Watching Darrow find his people among those he thought would be his enemies was such an interesting conflict to behold.
My only “gripe” is with the multiple loose ends that I didn’t feel were resolved, but this is only the first in a series so I’m sure those will be tackled later.
If you get the chance, listen to the graphic audio while you’re reading. It’s a totally immersive experience.
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Classism, Violence, Sexual assault, and Slavery
chelseaisreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Murder, War, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Slavery, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Sexual assault
rumpixel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Once you get past that, the book becomes far more interesting. Nothing truly came out of nowhere in terms of plot twists, it's more like multiple plot points sit on a steady simmer on the backburner and you keep a wary eye on — which overall makes it a satisfying read. The world building was integrated throughout, I never felt bogged down with details. The game is brutal and fascinating. The relationships are what makes this book strong against my criticisms.
At the core of it, Darrow is a bit overpowered but he's also our conduit to engage with the wide cast of characters. All of them shine in their own way, even the deplorable ones. Sevro quickly became my favourite, the real MVP, and if he were the main character I think that would have diminished just how great he is to experience through Darrow's perspective. Darrow also fails enough times, either through his own hubris or miscalculated trust, that it offsets any feeling that he is invincible — in my opinion.
All in all, I'm definitely going to continue the series. I'm a sucker for a Greek/Roman God class system, and in the current age of late stage capitalism I'm particularly hungry to eat the rich >:3
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Racism
zanazy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There is a mystery around the death of
The supporting characters in this story are all complicated and complex characters that add to the storyline and make you invest in their fates. Darrow finds himself in a world where everyone should be his enemy, and where despite his new status he is still a lower ranking than his peers, but he rises above and is a natural leader. He is a great example of someone who was born to lead. His leadership growth and the way he adapts and learns from his early mistakes in being a leader humanize him and make him relatable. No character in the story is without flaws.
There is very little romance in the story, which I thought I would miss, but it fits the setting. There are hints of characters becoming more, and the gradual build-up to this relationship is realistic, due to Darrow's early loss in the book. I look forward to seeing how this relationship evolves.
My favorite relationship is that of Sevro and Darrow. Brothers, loyalty, pride, and overcoming misconceptions and status. Sevro and the Howlers are the best, and their loyalty to Darrow, the Reaper is a highlight. I can't wait for Darrow to prove everyone wrong and show that loyalty was not just confined to their trial, some bonds truly cannot be broken and are for life.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: War, Death, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Blood, Sexual assault, Classism, Cursing, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Self harm, Rape, Grief, Physical abuse, and Slavery