Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

129 reviews

bottlecapmagnet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Child death, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Addiction and Animal death

Minor: Vomit

potion96's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

hades_astor's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.5

The characters in this book are truly feel like unique people, they all have flaws that make you dislike them at times or disagree with them. This made me love the cast even more! If you studied polisci/IR (or anything in that realm) this book looks at those theories from the perspective of the colonized/reified other in such an honest and intelligent way its was *chefs kiss*.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, Animal death, Drug abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide

It’s death or Chuluu Korikh for the Cike didn’t really, really hit me until the end

faythfarrar's review

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Sexual harassment, Grief, Addiction, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, and Death

meganpbell's review

adventurous dark informative sad tense 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

5.0

The Poppy War trilogy is a masterpiece and a modern classic of both military and grimdark fantasy—and every single book will leave you breathless, punched in the gut, in awe and in pain. Follow Fang Runin from poor scholar to powerful shaman, from war orphan to war criminal, as she takes vengeance on the rulers who’ve abused her, on a war path inspired by the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, and delve into war and trauma, rage and revolution, in detail not only horrific, but historic. I’ll read anything R. F. Kuang writes, even if (and it definitely will) hurts me. Check content warnings before reading this series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Religious bigotry, Body horror, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Cannibalism, Drug use, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Gore, Death, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Grief, and Colonisation

min_grachi's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Hate crime, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Racism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Addiction, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Misogyny, and Violence

lizziaha's review against another edition

dark

3.75

This final book in the poppy war trilogy tastes bitter. Rin’s ascent into godhood (because that’s what it is ultimately, the making of a legend, something bigger than life) twists her humanity. It’s a logical progression, an examination of how supernatural power twists the wielder’s humanity. The problem is that in her godhood, Rin is alone. Her power, her ambition, her trust and her betrayals, they’ve all warped her. Her superiority separates her, even her closest relationships become strained. She stops seeing people as human. It’s painfully realistic, and hard to read. It’s a point that needs to be made, and it’s sickening because you (the reader) stop seeing these people as human too. I couldn’t feel anything over the many deaths in this book because I was so stuck in Rin’s head. Characters pop in and out of her warpath so quickly that it’s impossible to connect with them, or even see Rin connect with them. Most of the time, she doesn’t even try. It’s horrifying to realize the conclusion that this book is spiraling towards, tighter and tighter until you feel suffocated by the weight of it. Vicious circles, indeed. Rin doesn’t, can’t, come to this conclusion until the end of the book, thinking, “history moved in such vicious circles.” And I’ll admit, it did take me a bit aback to recognize some of the parallels between Rin & co and the Trifecta. It’s a tough book to rate, because the very things that made me dislike it are the things that make it masterful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Religious bigotry, Violence, Blood, Xenophobia, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abortion and Death of parent

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.25

For context, I do not normally read war books and this series did not convince me to. That being said, this book was the most compelling. There was not enough evidence to justify a lot of the decisions the characters made about each other. Part one was more of the same of the last two books: a violent, repetitive drag. Part two was just confusion. 

Part three was very fast paced. 

The ending was satisfying and also infuriating. A story about the horror and hopelessness that colonialism is.  Devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Body horror, Cannibalism, Drug use, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Confinement, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Animal death, Child death, Grief, Hate crime, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, War, Abortion, Addiction, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Torture, and Violence

dreamer626's review

dark emotional sad 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

Wow. I cried. That is all. Wow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, and Body horror

louiserj's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Violence, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Cannibalism and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism