Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

13 reviews

bookishkellyn's review against another edition

adventurous tense

• 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

4.0

In Bassa, a reverse caste system–where lighter skin is looked down upon to the point of segregation–is upheld. Dansko is ‘mixed’ and therefore basically shunned, despite his academic excellence as a university scholar. After the appearance of a fabled “Yellowskin” (Lilong), his curiosity sets him and his betrothed (Esheme) on different life-changing paths, and Dansko discovers that his otherness may be a gift. The story sucked me in immediately, lulled in the middle, and then somewhat dragged at the end due to Esheme’s role as a one-dimensional villain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, War, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide

lcgordon's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

The worldbuilding is incredible....which means the first third of the book is an absolute slog. It really picks up in interesting ways if you can make it through that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, War, Violence, Racism, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Torture, and Gore

Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Death of parent

lady_valhella's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Classism, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Slavery

besnee's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Miscarriage

seanml's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Son of the Storm is a good start to a fantasy series, with tons of potential. The pace of the book I found to be somewhat slow for a while, and a lack of drive in the voice made it so that I had a hard time getting through initially. There is also a large roster of characters to keep track of and racial castes, which were probably the hardest to remember. Despite that, Son of the Storm has a great deal of worldbuilding put into it. It also has a fun magic system that can allow for deus ex machina moments without feeling that they come out of nowhere. The last 100 pages pick up in speed, and that’s mostly thanks to Esheme, who is a wonderfully entertaining antagonist to follow. Looking forward to the second installment! 7/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Violence, Classism, Xenophobia, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Child death, Genocide, Abortion, Animal death, Gore, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Medical content, Miscarriage, Cursing, and Bullying

rabon_g's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Murder

mandkips's review

challenging reflective slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs, Animal death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion, Genocide, and Pregnancy

thoughtsontomes's review

informative reflective slow-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

I struggled with whether I wanted to DNF this or not based on it not really gripping me but held on because there was a lot of promise. I did like what it set up enough to continue with the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Genocide

Minor: Miscarriage

deedireads's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Son of the Storm is a fun start to a new fantasy series. It’s got strong themes, a great magic system, and characters with lots of room to grow.

For you if: You want to read more West African-inspired fantasy.

FULL REVIEW:

First, thank you to Orbit for the electronic review copy! Epic fantasy and a cover like that — how could Son of the Storm not catch my eye? I enjoyed it and will definitely be reading book two in the Nameless Republic trilogy when it comes out later this year.

Son of the Storm jumps around in terms of point of view, but the main character is a young man named Danso. He’s from a caste that normally wouldn’t be allowed to become scholars, but in a society that claims to prize knowledge above all else, his photographic memory earns him a place at the university. Until he gets too curious. And meets a person who isn’t supposed to exist from a place that isn’t supposed to exist with a magic that isn’t supposed to exist.

I liked this book, although I think the trilogy is truly going to take off in book two. This one’s pacing wasn’t the fastest and felt a bit like a long exposition. Still, it has a ton of promising elements — a good central mystery, great magic system, and plenty of questions left to answer — that feel like they’re about to combine into epicness. It’s also got a GREAT villain who has only truly become the villain by the end of book one. In fact, all the characters are a bit unlikeable (immature, stubborn, making selfish choices) for most of this book, which can feel a little frustrating but also feels REAL and I think will set up some great character arcs by the end of the trilogy.

I also really appreciated the imaginative worldbuilding here and the way it examines things like colorism, classism, xenophobia, and diaspora. I’m excited to see those themes develop even more in book two.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Pregnancy and Grief

ok7a's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Hate crime

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Pregnancy