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mfrichter10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Child death, Rape, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Addiction, Slavery, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Self harm
icy_queen's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Classism, Torture, Addiction, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Child abuse, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma
Minor: Abortion and Infertility
chasinggrace's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Excrement, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Stalking, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Classism, Cursing, Death, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, War, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, and Vomit
ghost_rider's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Genocide, Violence, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Self harm, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Torture, Confinement, War, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
hyithia's review against another edition
- 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
- a very morally ambiguous main character that I loved/hated and I can't be mad at her for it
- overall interesting plot
- all characters had their complicated motives - no character seemed flat and all main characters developed well
- pacing was okay, but the ending felt very rushed compared to the rest of the book
- the parallel to colonization was clear and it made for a more emotional and intense narrative
- I loved the shamanism concept. I liked that the gods are to be feared, especially as a conduit, allowing them to inflict their will on the world
- I wish that we could have learned more about all 64 deities
- Disabled representation is present, which cannot be said of many books
Rin raising an army of shamans makes a lot of sense for her character and the war - desperate times call for desperate measures Rin's manic episode at the end was a fascinating character arc. at first, she refused to bend the knee, then realized her mistake, sacrificing herself and Kitay to Nezha for the greater good of her people. I found this arc so captivating because it illustrated the war-inflicted paranoia on Rin, especially after accusing Venka of being a traitor (but who knows, maybe she was... I enjoyed Rin and Venka's comradery though, so I hope not...) wasn't too much of a fan of the dragon arc - it didn't make much sense to me why the dragon would attack the city rather than try to capture Nezha and Rin. I did like that the dragon was more powerful than the phoenix and that the dragon was unbeatable because I think that is "realistic". the torture that both Rin and Nezha endured by the Hesperians was disgusting but was analogous to how colonizers treated those whom they were colonizing. it is an important narrative to show. similarly, I found the mindset that the Hesperians had towards the Nikara revolting. again, however, the mindset that a certain race is inherently better than another is one that people have had and have used to justify irreparable harm to those groups that they have decided are somehow lesser than. I hope that those who read this series notice, appreciate, and internalize the historical parallels, as to me, the historical parallels are core to this series. R.F. Kuang has done something truly amazing with this series.
Graphic: Racism, Addiction, Blood, Genocide, Physical abuse, Suicide, War, Colonisation, and Death
straw_hat_kd's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Gore
Moderate: Addiction and Blood
Minor: Cannibalism
bottlecapmagnet's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Cannibalism, Child death, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Addiction and Animal death
Minor: Vomit
potion96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Classism, Murder, War, Cannibalism, Addiction, Child death, Colonisation, Body horror, Violence, Torture, Genocide, and Blood
faythfarrar's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Sexual harassment, Grief, Addiction, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, and Death
flamesocks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Gore, Physical abuse, Addiction, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Blood, Self harm, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Racism, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Genocide, Kidnapping, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Child death, Colonisation, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, Grief, and Mental illness