Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

16 reviews

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

3.0

This was a fun read that I had a really good time with. However, I found the worldbuilding to be quite clunky and the plot is riddled with convenience. So many times in this book handy-dandy pieces of lore are just revealed out of nowhere so that the characters can escape certain death, or so that a difficult thing that needs doing can be done quickly, and these little tidbits where never foreshadowed or hinted at in any way beforehand. I also feel that, though I enjoyed the characters and their relationships, things develop way too fast. You have these people who are coming from completely opposite circumstance and who have every reason to distrust each other, and it takes them exactly 10 minutes to be willing to risk life and limb for each other/on each others word. Still, as I said, I did have a good time, and I will be continuing the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Violence, War, Slavery, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Vomit and Cannibalism

Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, Child death, and Sexual violence

beebidon's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Slavery, Trafficking, War, Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Classism, Murder, Mental illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Police brutality, Torture, Sexism, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Dementia

Minor: Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

kriti's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Blood, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, and Slavery

Minor: Child death, Cannibalism, and Car accident

jessthanthree's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: War, Blood, Classism, Death, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Sexism, Slavery, and Gore

Minor: Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Cannibalism, Vomit, Alcohol, Excrement, and Mental illness

ink_and_wings's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, Gore, and Medical trauma

Minor: War and Cannibalism

wysperias's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Confinement, Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, and Slavery

Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Cannibalism

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.75

I came across this book thanks to its mention in an essay about creative commentary through sci-fi/fantasy systems, in which it was lauded in the same breath as N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. I am happy to report that it lives up to this comparison. The “magic” system of this book is incredibly unique and inspired, and Robert Jackson Bennett skillfully increases how complexly it is applied in a very rewarding way. His style is similar to Brandon Sanderson, with a nice balance of humor, despair, and optimism. And the best part is this book is basically a series of heists with ever increasing stakes and reality-warping magic! This would be a 5 star review if not for some politics regarding policing that feel outdated from a 2023 perspective and the handling of a certain characters’ trauma. I think that element could’ve been handled more tactfully. Ultimately, though,  this book was quite the enjoyable read, and I’m excited to read the next installment!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Slavery, Torture, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Violence, Vomit, War, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Medical content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Cannibalism and Death of parent

aileron's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Medical trauma, Violence, Slavery, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Murder

Minor: War, Confinement, Death of parent, and Cannibalism

kell_xavi's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

2.5

There were a few things I liked about this book, but it’s a case where a combination of length and unpleasant tropes brought it down in my esteem the further along the plot went. There’s a kind of fantasy novel that is concerned with magic that is often mechanic, often acts on the human body, is often a curse of gothic body horror, and almost always has someone sadistic and mad with jealous power at its heart. I’ve read a few of these books, and I can feel the dread creep in as I figure out that they’re going in this direction. 

Bennett’s basic world-building is kind of cool, though (and this may also be an element of the kind of book I’ve just described) perhaps not to the well-trained, in-depth fantasy reader. The idea that codes can train objects to act like other objects, essentially as though their reality is different and specific to another thing, is intriguing. The scrivers and fabricators, lexicons and Sancia’s powers are all fascinating. The problem is that a lot of the mythology is really complex, the advanced scrived designs get a bit out of hand, and Bennett ends up juggling a lot of stuff that, despite sometimes lengthy explanations, is often a mix of suspension of disbelief and deus ex machina. Which would be a good joke, considering how much of the story deals with gods, machines, advanced beings, magic cyborgs, and the like, except that the piling up of all these pieces sort of cracks the foundations that the story is built on. I was never sure, when the characters refer to god (as in, “god help me” etc.), which god they speak of, since there’s no religion mentioned and the distant past is legend. They also swear way too much, all said, so that it became a distraction and the characters blended together at times; and this alternate universe looks a lot like steampunk 19th century Italy.  

Some of the reveals about the key, about Sancia, are moving, but there’s a way to write trauma without putting that trauma in the reader, and Bennett was not interested in doing so. There’s an abundance of scenes of torture, war, enslavement, of misogyny, of medical trials, of starvation and mutilation, a lot of which I didn’t feel served it’s purpose. It’s a terrible world that’s terrible to live in. Sancia is a scrappy thief with a weird curse, and one of the few people worth rooting for. Mostly, these circumstances made me less likely to read the rest of the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Slavery, War, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: Excrement, Misogyny, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Body horror, and Colonisation

Minor: Vomit, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

wrenthebard's review against another edition

Why, in a fictional world with fictional locations, is a slur etymologically based on a real world location used? He could have said travelers. He could have said nomads. He could have said anything. Instead he chose a slur. I would have DNFed and returned it at that point if it wasn't a library book. Instead, I pressed on, and found lazy and mediocre writing. Phrases are repeated within sentences, worldbuilding is dumped through clumsy character dialogue, the editing is poor, the characters are shallow and not consistent (one claims to be vehemently opposed to killing, but proceeds to have no problems with it minutes later), the worldbuilding and magic system are the only things worth reading this book for. Even the contrived swearing is lazy; swears roll off the tongue, these don't. Not the worst book I've read this year. Not remotely the best. Compared to the other titles I've read this year, I'd call this firmly below average.

I wrote that much partway through reading. I've come to amend.

If you can use anything but rape, DON'T USE RAPE.

This has now passed into bad book territory. 75% through and I'm officially DNFing it. An extremely rare occurrence, which should say something.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Mental illness

Moderate: Slavery, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexism, Murder, Mental illness, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, War, Death, Kidnapping, Cursing, and Classism

Minor: Cannibalism, Vomit, and Racial slurs