Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Do błyskawicy podobne by Ada Palmer

16 reviews

midwichtriffid's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Rape, Body horror, and Cannibalism

Minor: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual assault, Grief, Death, Car accident, Incest, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Rape, War, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Murder, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

radinsh's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Intelligent, creative bordering on pretentious and tedious. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide

agavemonster's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

"Would you destroy a better world to save this one?"

Brilliant! I absolutely loved the presumptive pronouns assigned by the narrator, the explorations of Life's Big Questions through the lenses of multiple characters and their priest-cum-therapists, the wild experimentations with form, genre, and tone, and the slowly unraveling realization that this "utopia" (still wildly surveilled and a dystopia by many of our current standards of living) has many, many darknesses wrapped at its core. Three-quarters stars off for what I perceived as a clumsy characterization and dialogue of both children and what are meant to be "charming" characters, but I must say, now that I've read the whole book, I can appreciate what the author was intentionally doing with those more juvenile sections. Contra many other reviewers, I appreciated the

sudden turn into sexuality and violence, as when we discover Mycroft's crimes and when Mycroft was first accosted by Saladin, as the embodiment of the characters in this future world seemed to be a little missing in previous chapters. I was ultimately surprised, relieved, and amused by the knowledge that the author can do "adult" topics, as many in SFF can't or won't, and was choosing not to use them (by having the narrator choose not to use them) until the moment they would cause the most shock. Clever turnaround!!!

The only part of the world I still want to see revealed is the sexual/romantic dynamics of the "accepted" mainstream genderless society, as we get a good look at every type of relationship in this future world (familial, friendly, rivalry, servitude, taboo "genderful" brothel) other than that.

Still slightly less elegant overall than I think the author was striving for, especially since I got lost so much in all the plurality of nicknames different characters have for one another, but it is a first novel. Would recommend, absolutely.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Torture

Minor: Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

catsy2022's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Rating: B+ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Suicide and Gore

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, and Incest

etosaurus's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

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.

vaguelymaybe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

head-and-shoulders-above-the-crowd the best book i read this year (tied with Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente; honorable mention to An Unkindness of Shadows by Rivers Solomon). i can't remember the last time i was this intellectually stimulated by any piece of media - this is what they're talking about when they say 'epic' speculative fiction. it absolutely blew me away and will definitely be a book i think about for a long time!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cannibalism, Gore, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Incest, Sexual violence, and Suicide