Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

70 reviews

isa_isa's review against another edition

2.5

Just not for me, the story felt too convoluted and slow paced. Very gory and graphic which isn’t my fave.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, War, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Torture, Cannibalism, and Death

narzibenoucdel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism, Blood, Death, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: War, Body horror, and Sexual content

inmyths's review

5.0

absolutely adore this type of storytelling 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Blood, Animal death, Death of parent, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, War, Cannibalism, Death, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Vomit, Sexual violence, and Suicide

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

This is, without a doubt, the most unique book I have ever read. My experience with this book (and experience is truly the only word to describe it) is one I highly doubt will be replicated any time soon, if ever. 

The story this book tells is as dark and raw as it is beautiful for it is “indeed a love story. Down to the blade-dented bone”

There is so little to say, because this book left me speechless and I fear it will consume my mind and soul for some time to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: War, Child abuse, Grief, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture

Minor: Death of parent

ellen_is_reading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

This book is otherworldly. Told as a dream, a story, a play, a dance, it is lyrical and magical both in content and writing. The people interject, filling the world with voices and details that make it feel like a rushing river of a story. It's dark, but beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Animal death, Child death, Blood, Body horror, War, Violence, Murder, Torture, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Classism, Medical content, Child abuse, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Misogyny

becalexa's review against another edition

4.75

i bought this book bc of the gorgeous cover and intriguing title and i couldn’t have been more unprepared for the masterpiece i was about to find within the pages. it’s like nothing else i’ve ever read and took a little while to get used to reading but once i was in i was IN. the way the author plays with perspective and tense is quite a feat, expertly weaving the reader in with the characters and occasionally suspending the story over itself in a way i’ve never read before. i just loved this story and the experience reading it was something special. the only reason this isnt a full 5 star is there were a few sentences that suffered from sentence fragment syndrome which i have personally been noticing a lot in newer novels and has become a pet peeve. additionally a thought i found myself having throughout was i would love to listen to an audiobook of this story recorded by the narrator of baldur’s gate 3 and additional voices for the italicized lines (if you’ve read it u know what i mean) lol i think her voice would be an amazing addition to the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Suicide

jesshaleth's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-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

4.75

A dream about a play of a folk tale your grandmother used to tell you. And yet it doesn't feel distant and alien, like an abstract telling might, it just feels mythic and beautiful. ...okay well no some of it was quite graphic and I couldn't call it all beautiful, check the content warnings, but like it fit into the themes and vibes somehow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Violence, Murder, Ableism, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, and Vomit

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Sexual assault, War, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

connora795's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

Oh shit this book has got me in my FEELINGS 

This is a great book if you want a TRUE slow burn enemies to lovers that doesn’t focus on the romance too heavily. There are a lot of difficult topics discussed in this book so I would check the content/trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Child death

strawb3rrysugar's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? N/A

3.5

If you're looking for a grand, epic fantasy that's unlike anything you've read before, and you're patient enough for a non-linear reading experience that shifts POVs (and narration styles) and timelines every couple of pages, I recommend this book. It took a good while for me to "get into" it, or to even really know what's going on, but I believe this to be the author's intention - you will have lots of questions and few answers. Also, do look up the TWs ahead of time. This book can get unflinchingly grisly at some points; this does not reflect upon my overall review of the book, but if you can't stomach kind of intense gore, maybe pass on this one. 

As is the case with a lot of 500+ page books, this book plays the long game - you will spend a good portion of it not entirely clued into what's going on. While it starts slow and sometimes lulls in the middle, the third act is excellently crafted. Anyone who loves a gritty, deeply human fantasy would enjoy this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Drug use

Violence, war, trauma, and ableism are described often and in great detail, as they're core themes to the book. So there's a lot of the above, sometimes depicted cruelly - people in power enjoying the suffering of others to a strong degree. There's also many uses of the word cr*pple, and a sickly talking tortoise that's called "the Defective one." Some of the ableism is directed at mc Keema since he only has one arm. A lot of vomit scenes/mentions. A lot of references to bodily functions in general - piss, poop, and so on. Sexual content includes references to pornographic tablets sold by a street vendor and some sexual interactions with the main two MCs, eventually

culminating into a brief sex scene at the very end

The emperor's treatment of the empress in flashbacks could allude to sexual abuse.

britnic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, Cannibalism, Torture, Gore, Genocide, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual content