Reviews

Trigger warning: war, PTSD, drug abuse, hellucinations, physical abuse, rape, body horror, gore.

This book is a lyrical, dark and symbolic work of art. It explores the mentality of drug abuse during war to obtain supernatural powers which was a common practice amongst the shamans, assassins and earlier tribal warriors.

The drug abusers are not victims but the decision makers, they are not glorified sufferers but humans who made mistakes, and sometimes the details are disgusting. I will not warn you more, but do not read chapter 21. If you end up reading this book anyway, but cannot handle graphic detail of rape, body horror, and trauma caused by war.

You'll have a hard time reviewing your moral idealism, although this book is categorized as fantasy, it has made me think more about war than any non-fiction war-based book I've read, you will also see that this book explores PTSD of many origins not only from military conflict but of many things as well, there is a secondary character's POV on rape after chapter 21 that speaks up for everyone who has been sexually assaulted and endured such an inhuman, brutal thing, and what the victims of such cruelty actually want without any discrimination.

It's a really heavy book so if you are not ready to handle such topics, please do not read this book.

feysrand's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

cecestonier's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense 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

5.0

alexbirdreads's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is absolutely incredible. Every time you think you understand where it's going to go, you get a better story instead. If you asked me to predict where the story was going when I was a third of the way in, I would've described a completely different world. Which makes sense. After everything that happens in this story, it makes sense that none of the characters are left the same. All of the characters are so detailed and dynamic, and even though each is different from the other, you can understand why they are the way they are and where they're coming from. The story as a whole constantly makes you re-think how you look at each character and the world (and humanity) itself.

This book is also deeply haunting. It's hard to say I enjoyed the end, because I don't think anyone could enjoy that much suffering and anguish. But I was very drawn in by the characters' reactions to the horror around them, and I respect that the author refuses to let you look away or gloss over the worst parts of war. I also really respect the author's commitment to making the protagonist very fleshed out, flawed, and human, even if that means

Spoiler

you're left wondering "Oh god, is Rin the bad guy? When did Rin become the bad guy?"

I think this book shows you the full spectrum of humanity and human responses to such incomprehensible violence and bloodshed. I'm prone to identify with responses from characters like Kintay and Jiang the hardest, but all of them felt authentic and understandable.

I have no idea how it will feel to move forward with the rest of the trilogy, what to expect, or even if I'm really ready for more of this story again. But damn if I'm not impressed by how deep and rich the writing is and how melted my brain feels after this book.

trekkiegirl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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