Reviews tagging 'War'

The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

27 reviews

marigold82's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Nice follow-up book. The ending left you wanting more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Torture

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Pregnancy

librarybookscene's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, War, and Sexism

Moderate: Abandonment and Blood

Minor: Body shaming, Gore, Death of parent, and Body horror

amanda_marie's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad 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

3.75

This series is bananas sometimes. It’s trying to do so much, and I’m not always sure it’s working, but I’m so enchanted by the efforts that I just keep reading. Loved the twists and turns in this sequel as the lore developed and will definitely read more books just to see how this turns out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Torture, Self harm, Sexism, and Transphobia

helvars's review against another edition

adventurous challenging

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexism, Blood, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia

anniereads221's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Blood, and Sexism

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia

bookishpaula's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Homophobia, and Transphobia

canascorner's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Blood, War, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Transphobia

lucy_shanners's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, War, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Pregnancy and Transphobia

corabookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

it’s hard for me to rate this book, because on one hand, it was interesting and entertaining, and a pretty solid second book. but some of the concepts in it also made me a little uncomfortable. (such as the fact that the only asexual character was asexual because of the trauma and abuse she’d gone through, and the fact that a lot of queer characters seemed to be revealed as queer just to give them a traumatic backstory.

also, the reverse-sexism thing at the end was such a different theme and idea from the first book that it gave me whiplash. it just felt like a whole different story

) but it wasn’t that bad of a book?? and i enjoyed reading most of it, especially the beginning. all in all, i’m pretty conflicted :/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Misogyny, Homophobia, Violence, War, Sexual violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

kianareads's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.25

"When gods dance, humanity trembles." 

 

Many moments in this made me feel like I was reading a psychological thriller. Deka, previously so sure in her understanding of herself, her world, and her goddesses is made to question everything. Even her own memories. 

 

The first book focused in on how misogyny impacted and harmed its main target: women. The journey was about Deka and the other alaki finding their power as women, learning to love themselves, and to fight for their freedom. THE MERCILESS ONES expanded on this theme making it clear that, as Fannie Lou Hamer once said, “nobody’s free until everybody’s free”. 

 

I am grateful for the way Forna highlighted how misogyny negatively impacts (to varying degrees) everyone not just women. And this sequel doesn’t stop at misogyny. It addresses homophobia, transphobia, generational trauma, grief, found family, religious genocide, and the need to move beyond seeing the world through restrictive binaries. 

 

Simply cannot wait for the third book (even more than I was anxiously waiting for the second!) 🔥 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, and Torture

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Violence, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Transphobia

Minor: Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Sexual assault