Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Čierny leopard, červený vlk by Marlon James

182 reviews

jack_humenay's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a pretty engaging fantasy work with enough mystery interwoven into the narrative to keep one interested. It's nonlinear storytelling and unique perspective makes it a breath of fresh air to the genre that, at times, can make for a jumbled experience. Its graphic depictions of sex can be uncomfortable, but its world and mythos makes it something to behold.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

eli3823's review against another edition

DNF. Stopped 1/3 in. Dense, highly stylized prose. Difficult to read. It's not always clear who is talking. Too much rape, graphic violence and reference to ass smells. Main character motivations aren't apparent. The part of the timeline, background that could shed light on who the protagonist is comes way too late. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

fizzy_lizard's review against another edition

Might finish eventually because the writing is great and the characters are intriguing, but for now - so. much. r*pe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

nate_b's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A truly brilliant story! The world-building of an alternative African magical reality is absolutely incredible. I will need to give this another listen, though it is so intense and violent I don't know when I'll be up for it. It's almost like the most graphic type of scenes from Law & Order: SVU all put together with terrifying descriptions of witchcraft blended with mysterious powers, destiny, loss, and a pervasive, bitter sense of betrayal.

It was hard to follow at times but well worth the effort and time. It's a long book but so exquisitely told!

The author does not shy away from extremely graphic depictions of the acts of his characters, including sexual assault, murder, and war crimes against children. I actually had to set it aside after the first time I tried listening to it until a time when I was more able to handle the violent opening scene and get into the fascinating characters beyond. Maybe next year I'll be up to listen to the sequel! I hope they get the same narrator. He did a phenomenal job! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cryptidstar's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.5

The writing of this book is interesting, but ultimately the plot and writing was just too dense and slow moving to hold my interest. I didn’t finish it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Blood, Trafficking, and Death of parent

oisinofthehill's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, and Torture

elenaakers's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

littlelynn's review against another edition

I got about 150 pages through this, then checked out some reviews to try and ascertain if the unpleasantness was ever going to let up and if the plot was ever going to begin, and picked up that while a plot does eventually introduce itself, the content continues on as unpalatable than ever. 

I do not typically put books down because of difficult content, however, the way it is framed and how unrelenting it is just left me feeling vaguely angry and nauseated without any emotional catharsis or payoff for enduring it on the horizon. Gory violence, sexual assault, child abuse, genitals and shit were mentioned every other page if not more frequently. It felt like the author wanted me to be constantly disgusted, and if so he was just far too successful. 

James is clearly a very talented writer, the prose - while difficult and somewhat inaccessible at first - is impressive. But I do think it smacks in places of literary authors not appreciating that genre is a different beast, and what makes excellent literary prose is fundamentally not the same as what makes excellent fantasy and genre prose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

e_asw_97's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring 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

3.0

this book is a dazzling narrative full of rich imagination and prose. but at times, the pacing drags, and the action becomes dry and repetitive. these small complaints do not detract from the impact and the scope of the narrative, which is unlike anything I have ever read.

I took a full star off my rating, however, because I am disappointed to see how, even in this masterful upheaval of fantasy, women are still made to endlessly suffer, and to be the cause of the male characters' greatest suffering. few, if any, main characters are female, and those who are die quickly, or live only to serve the ends and purpose of the male characters. I want so badly for literature to move past this convention, this unending commitment to a misogynistic ideal, and to engage with it beyond a throwaway line from a supporting character asking the main character why he hates women so much. I could go on about the gratuitous and unsympathetic use of violence and rape in this book, and how the author wholeheartedly fails to resolve his own main character's virulent hatred of women, but to do so would echo decades of criticism of genre and literary fiction. I am simply disappointed that this book, which was lauded for flouting convention and being a "revolutionary" work, simply conformed to the worst parts of its genre. I had hoped for otherwise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Grief, and War

marmybarmy's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest