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strange's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Body horror, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Gore
Minor: Pregnancy
limiwh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Vomit and Animal death
bibliocinephile's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this was a slightly odd jump of slow exposition into fast burning action. however this is the only thing slightly off, and it's a small price to pay for intricate, breathtaking imagery that boosts a beautiful piece of world building and fantasy. excited for the next ones :D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Violence and Gore
bearystarry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Slavery, and Child abuse
robinsong's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Death of parent, and Animal death
5aru's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I remember reading this book when I was younger and having a rather difficult time following it. Now that I’ve revisited it, I hardly feel like I’ve read the same book twice; I truly did not remember a thing, and the things I remembered seemed to be all wrong. Overall, though, I found it a very intriguing fantasy. The magic system is complex, but not overly so; the interplay of Charter and Free Magic in particular I found fascinating, and I wish the author weren’t quite so mysterious about the magical workings, but the gradual reveal of the worldbuilding does keep you interested, so I won’t complain.
I do feel the writing was a little poor, but the style was kind of charming — and I also suppose I’m not quite the intended audience, so that’s mostly fine. I do have a major gripe with it, though, and that’s how little depth there is to the characters, to the relationships between them; I wish they were a bit more fleshed-out, or at least a little less archetypal, predictable. I do like Sabriel a lot, but because her feelings are hardly given consideration in depth (despite her being the focalizing character), she falls too flat sometimes — it ends up feeling like the plot drives the action entirely, and characters having feelings and interaction is more of an afterthought than anything else.
Other than that, I did enjoy reading it and ran through it fairly quickly. I will probably be checking out the rest of the series as well, see how that goes.
I do feel the writing was a little poor, but the style was kind of charming — and I also suppose I’m not quite the intended audience, so that’s mostly fine. I do have a major gripe with it, though, and that’s how little depth there is to the characters, to the relationships between them; I wish they were a bit more fleshed-out, or at least a little less archetypal, predictable. I do like Sabriel a lot, but because her feelings are hardly given consideration in depth (despite her being the focalizing character), she falls too flat sometimes — it ends up feeling like the plot drives the action entirely, and characters having feelings and interaction is more of an afterthought than anything else.
Other than that, I did enjoy reading it and ran through it fairly quickly. I will probably be checking out the rest of the series as well, see how that goes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore
bluejay21's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, and Violence
hannahr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Violence
bencaroline's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This book disappointed me, to be honest! I read the series as a kid and remember really enjoying it but it didn't pull me in nearly as much as I expected or hoped.
This is one of many fantasy worlds in which bloodline is not only relevant but sacred, and can we be done with that bullshit please? And while we're at it let's abolish forced hetero romance that there's no established reason to care about, also present in this book.
That being said, I still appreciated the way this book explores death and its meaning and its fantasy possibilities, and while the heteronormativity is pretty major, this seems to be a world with very little gender bias or sexism. I'm looking forward to rereading the rest of the series.
This is one of many fantasy worlds in which bloodline is not only relevant but sacred, and can we be done with that bullshit please? And while we're at it let's abolish forced hetero romance that there's no established reason to care about, also present in this book.
That being said, I still appreciated the way this book explores death and its meaning and its fantasy possibilities, and while the heteronormativity is pretty major, this seems to be a world with very little gender bias or sexism. I'm looking forward to rereading the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Trafficking, Murder, and Body horror
Minor: Vomit, Torture, and Adult/minor relationship
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