Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Dreams of the Dying by Nicolas Lietzau

6 reviews

josiah17's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

Initial rating is 5 stars, we'll see if that changes after sitting on it. (Moved down to a 4.5 after sleeping on it. Still fantastic).

"The mind is a malleable thing. Soil, I you're feeling poetic. Depending on the seed, anything will grow in it, from graceful gardens to idyllic meadows, from weedy forests to foggy swamps. Harmonious or chaotic, peaceful or perilous, health or ill—it's all a matter of seeds."

I'm in awe of the realistic and thorough representation of mental illness in this book. Nicolas Lietzau clearly took incredible care with crafting Jespar as a character and his struggles with himself and his circumstances, and I'm eternally grateful for that. The phantom noose, the inability to speak about your thoughts even when you want to, the pessimism, the haunting memories, all of these things and more that Jespar deals with are very real and relatable. And I think the deliberate decision to have Jespar as essentially the sole POV character (there is another who goes by "the man", but his POVs are a little different) amplified the exploration and conveyance of Jespar's inner struggles for the better.

"He didn't scream because he had accepted that his struggle was pointless; if your own mind is the enemy, where could you run?"

I also loved the worldbuilding. The appendix (hardcover version) does enhance this aspect of the story with the addition of the Makehu language index and sketches of fauna and flora, but it was excellent nonetheless. The magic system was also unique and interesting. And the horror elements throughout the entirety of the book were pleasantly effective. I was surprised by just how actually eery and terrifying some sequences were.

My only real criticisms that I have are fairly minor. The dialogue felt a bit "boyish" or YA at times. Mostly with the romance, which does have a bit of a love triangle, but it's not overly annoying as love triangles usually are. I was also underwhelmed with the Pale Twins, a set of antagonists who I wish were fleshed out more or at least had more page time discussing them or facing them in battle. But again, quite minor criticisms. And I'm close to just keeping this at 5 stars because I feel the important mental health rep kind of trumps these criticisms.

Altogether, very impressive self-published debut novel. The mental health representation, innovative worldbuilding, and horror ambience being the most outstanding and rewarding aspects of this read for me. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel Lietzau is currently writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Medical content, Rape, and Suicide attempt

shadereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence

Moderate: War and Vomit

totallyshelfaware's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Gore, Death, Body horror, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Moderate: Infidelity

jamielikestoread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Moderate: Blood, Gore, Rape, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Dementia

raireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, Mental illness, Racism, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Drug use, Death of parent, War, Murder, Rape, Death, Cursing, Body horror, Blood, Alcohol, Vomit, Self harm, Child death, and Addiction

sarahasyouwish's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

This was a dark psychological and political fantasy which faces some very deep themes head-on. If you appreciate character-focused fantasy that isn’t afraid to tackle things like  mental illness, trauma, political ideologies and power then you should definitely pick this one up. My only critique is that I would have liked more page time and depth given to the female characters, but hopefully that will be addressed in the sequels. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide, Mental illness, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Body horror, Blood, and Child death

Moderate: Death of parent and Dementia

Minor: Pregnancy