Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Piąta Pora Roku by N.K. Jemisin

113 reviews

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

gandalf_a's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

Wow. I didn't really know what to expect from this book other than I had heard much praise for it. I wasn't prepared for it to be that good ! I don't really know how to express how in love I am with this story.

First, I want to say I really liked Jemisin's writing style and the characters' cynicism (especially Syenite's). The second person narration in some of the chapters didn't bother me at all, on the contrary, if found it to be a nice change and also helped me feel closer to the main character.

Talking about characters, I found them all really great, as well as their dynamics. For example, Syenite and Alabaster don't have the kind of romance you might expect in a subplot but their bond takes another, nonetheless strong, form. I applaud Jemisin for risking the unconventional and doing it so well.
Speaking about the unconventional... the world and magic system ! I admire how unique and thoroughly researched it was. Jemisin really succeeded to make me interested in geology 😂.
The three POVs served the mysterious aspect of the story perfectly as it allowed the author to lead the reader step by step (or should I say hint by hint) to the reveals.

(I do want to add that I don't know why I find the cover so mesmerising but I just do... anyone else ?)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Child abuse

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Bullying, Death, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Torture

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Cursing, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Medical trauma, Death, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Blood

thewileyseven's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

I would give this even more stars if I could. Jemisin's writing is beyond unique--a once-in-a-lifetime manipulator of voice and crafter of story. This is a must read for anyone looking for the future of science fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, and Death

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

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

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.

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

kemrick19's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, Child death, Torture, and Abandonment

Moderate: Gore, Ableism, Classism, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Cursing, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Sexism

coffeepotoo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

this book gripped me from the prologue alone. wonderful prose, worldbuilding and the plot is beautifully crafted as well. i really liked most of the characters in this book; they all felt quite unique and real. one of the best fantasy books i've ever read, and i can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Murder, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Pedophilia

cheye13's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

This is a masterfully composed story and an expertly crafted world. I particularly enjoyed the interludes that broke the story here and there - beautiful passages that also foreshadowed and added subtext seamlessly.

There was a consistently morose tone and happy moments were few and far between, which I found trying at times. But overal an excellent book that I would recommend widely. Can't wait to see where the rest of the story goes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Child abuse, Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Torture

Minor: Pedophilia, Trafficking, Homophobia, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Slavery