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halberdbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
It has been so long since I have jumped into a Sci-Fi or Fantasy series truly designed from the beginning to be a full set. Usually, book 1 is a standalone thing, and the rest of the books follow from that. So I was caught off-guard when this book ended, not on a cliffhanger, but on what feels like the actual initiating incident. Naturally, I have to know what happens next. This book is pretty slow, far more interested in explaining other things than explaining itself, caught up significantly more in the geopolitical machinations and philosophies of our past than its future, and very difficult to follow with its enormous cast and propensity for tangents. And yet, it is riveting. I am confused and overwhelmed and enthralled. At one point, the book essentially turned to me and demanded I face the true reality of the only logical endpoint of my own philosophy. I must see where this goes. I could not explain what this book is about. I don't know that I'll ever recommend it. And yet this is a SOLID four stars.
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Murder, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping
Minor: Incest and War
etosaurus's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide, Slavery, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Genocide
Minor: Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Incest, and Child abuse
Gender identity is a large theme which can be distressing for some. While most of the world operates without overt gender, our narrator for convoluted reasons genders people--not based on their sex, but based on outdated ideas of what gendered characteristics are. This gendering is often not done with the consent of the people involved, but when he knows someone's preference and is at liberty to reveal that information he will do so.But the rest of the time can ping as "misgendering" if you're sensitive to that kind of thing (it distressed me a lot the first time through the book). The book does have characters who would count as "trans" in the modern day, and they are not discriminated against for it.
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