Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

16 reviews

jurizprudence's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

pov: you open this expecting a witty review and plot summary but are instead greeted by a video of me screaming sobbing throwing up etc for 30 minutes straight

but really. this book is a masterpiece that examines an in-depth portrayal of colonization, morality, political machinations, and the horrors of empire. it's about a super smart and super repressed gay accountant and her singular goal to avenge her family and free her homeland by rising high enough in the Masquerade’s hierarchy to destroy it from within. lots of economics, finance, and monetary polices that will challenge your mind. the prose is immaculate and the plot and twists were finely executed. really dark and gritty, it tackles colonialism and its tolls on the oppressed and subjugated in a realistic way, and because of that, it is not an easy read. cw for almost everything, because this book (the whole series itself) does not hold back from horrifying topics. honestly one of the best books i've read, and i'm already calling it, also one of my favorite reads this year.

read this if you like smart and clever heroines, political intrigue, tragic sapphic romance, grotesque amount of pain and betrayal, and long-lasting emotional damage. the main ship can jam to my tears ricochet ‼

read this and get ready to be devastated by dashing lesbians with unlimited loyalty. come join me and come cry with me :'(

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, War, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, and Racism

Moderate: Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gore, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

Minor: Trafficking and Animal death

mayaccountant's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Trafficking, War, Murder, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Racism, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Genocide, and Forced institutionalization

misszoe's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

ccrowder's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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? It's complicated

Just finished reading this and still figuring out how I feel about it, which I feel should tell you much about it as a story. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Torture, Sexism, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Outing, Murder, Lesbophobia, Genocide, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture

Bury your gays trope abounds

opaloctopus's review

dark sad slow-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

1.0

I don't know why this book is so popular, but it is. It seems to revel in the trauma and oppression that it ostensibly opposes and a lot of it reads like trauma/torture porn. The themes it covers (homophobia is bad, colonialism is bad, it's impossible to destroy a system from the inside without letting it take over a part of you) can easily be covered without being so gratuitous. Mean Girls, for example, takes on the last theme beautifully without seeming to revel in the murder and mutilation of gay people. The fact that these tortures only really happen to marginalized people make them seem more voyeuristic than empathetic. Hard no from me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

finkydink's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Violence