Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

14 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

lanid's review

adventurous mysterious

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy

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

zombiezami's review against another edition

A third of the way in, and it still just wasn't grabbing me. The plot feels very uninspired. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death, Torture, Police brutality, Classism, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Infidelity, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape

Colorism

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

daniellestarredpages's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Vomit, and War

Moderate: Grief, Slavery, and Cursing

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

laurareads87's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

I have had Son of the Storm on my TBR for quite some time; having recently read Okungbowa's short story in The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction (2021) [sidenote: pick up this anthology - it's fantastic] I was very much looking forward to it.
There is so much that I appreciated about this book, and I'm glad that it is going to be a series because I look forward to reading more set in this universe.  The world-building is incredible -- complex histories, social and political dynamics, and spiritual and cultural worldviews are really well developed.  I found Okungbowa's use of multiple POVs effective -- each one added to the overall story, and this structure allowed for rich character development as the reader learns more about each character in part based on how they view others.  If I had a complaint, I would say that the first 15-20% or so felt a little bit slow in terms of plot -- it picked up from there, though, and held my interest throughout.  I look forward to picking up the next book in the series.
<i>Content warnings:</i> violence, gore, xenophobia, blood, torture, death, murder, animal cruelty, animal death, fire injury/death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, Torture, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

bookswithjk's review

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

4.5

Another unique fantasy book that’s about racial tensions from an entirely different viewpoint. I had assumed that yellowskin referred to Asians, but after reading the author’s clarification, I was completely foolish to assume so, especially since there’s no indication of an Asian culture in a world that’s definitively African based/inspired. The magic system reminds me of Terry Brooks’ Elfstones, although with more costs/limitations. 

Pacing wise, the story does start out slow - Part One does the hefty job of outlining the author’s vision, but the two subsequent parts run much faster. As for the characters, I didn’t really bond with them as much as I would have liked. Danso is at times irritatingly naive, although he does mature, Lilong is a wary outsider (understandably so), and Esheme is…well, she reads as sociopathic. They’re all interesting characters, however, and I’m more invested in our emperor, given the special circumstances of her powers. 

All in all, I enjoyed it and am now eagerly waiting for the sequel! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Murder, Violence, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury