Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Piąta Pora Roku by N.K. Jemisin

77 reviews

squidnamedfinger's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-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

5.0

totally gripping all the way through. couldn't put it down. you know a fantasy book is good if it's got me actually referencing the glossary.

Jemisin does such a great job creating a world that is as deeply insidious as our own. her use of second-person perspective is especially good at hammering it in that YOU should be feeling this sense of hatred and injustice at every turn. I love the way the perspective character often describes people in terms of how desirable the empire sees them. it really drives home how deeply the ugliness of this world affects the way her characters think and act.

and her CHARACTERS. the whole cast is enthralling. I won't say much because I think they deserve to be introduced on their own, but my favorites are Tonkee and Innon.

Jemisin also supplies just the right amount of information; the glossary and timeline are vague enough to give a sense of the world without spoiling anything. I actually went back and reread the prologue about halfway through to get more context, then I read the glossary and ignored the timeline (until the end). 

her pacing is also a huge strength--I was confused for the first few chapters jumping time and perspective, but by the time I got about 80 pages in (around when you're introduced to Damaya and Schaffa) it clicked. from there it just delivers blow after blow of outstanding scenes that all echo each other across every storyline. 

cannot recommend this enough. brutal and horrifying--but it's also heartwarming, and quite funny in passing moments. quite a few passages had my jaw on the floor. really excited to dive into the next in this trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Child abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Body horror and Gore

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

I really loved this epic fantasy packed full of earth-based powers, found family, inclusive character design, and tragedy. The 3-character style worked so well. This starts slow, as many epic fantasy do, and has such an interesting payoff as character stories come together.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Grief, Child death, Blood, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Body horror, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death

Police brutality, destroyed homelands/refugee experience

wordpuncher's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Violence, Sexual content, Animal death, and Classism

Minor: Emotional abuse and War

shalladin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, Gore, Racism, and War

Moderate: Misogyny, Classism, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Rape, and Child death

cvbattum's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

What an incredible journey. There are so many layers to it that I can't possibly praise them all. The ones that stick out the most are probably the hugely original worldbuilding and the incredibly deep characterization of the protagonists. The writing itself is quite pretty, with a poetic edge to it without being flowery at all, really. 

For all its darkness and apocalypses, it has a surprisingly hopeful feeling to it. There are some nice fuzzy moments of love and peace among the dark. I can't wait to finish the next two books already!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content

f18's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Torture, Child death, Bullying, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Medical trauma, Blood, Abandonment, Slavery, and Gore

Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Transphobia, Vomit, Animal death, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Rape

unwanted pregnancy

emeraldrina's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

Wow this book was incredibly put together. The way the story unfolds and all comes together at the end is so detailed and intricate and glorious. The world is dark and fascinating and a joy to discover as you read. I was very skeptical about the 2nd person POV at first but I’m so glad I kept reading! The writing is amazing, I love the style and humor and even the little ways Jemisin uses formatting to shape the tone of characters’ thoughts. And I love Syenite so much!! She’s such a badass. I can’t wait to continue the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Cursing, Excrement, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Vomit

delphinaris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

what the fuck, like actually. There's genuinely so many different moving pieces to this book. I have so many questions, just like, wow. I fucking called it that all POVs were the same person, I knew it. Also Syenite pissed me off so much, like it was just one stupid move after the other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Animal death, Alcohol, Infertility, Infidelity, Child death, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Xenophobia, War, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Slavery, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Classism, Confinement, and Child abuse

This book is majorly fucked up; especially the scenes in the Fulcrum. Read at your own risk.

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is what restored my love for reading as an adult. It’s truly remarkable in every possible way: the characters, the world-building, the story, all of it. I will never shut up about how much I love this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Death, Child abuse, Slavery, Violence, Gore, and Grief

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.75

I was very confused in the beginning, and I’d say I didn’t quite understand what was going on until about 75 percent of the way through the book, but by the end I was very invested. N.K. Jemisin is a genius

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Child death, Gore, Murder, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual content, Slavery, Stalking, Animal death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Torture, and War

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism