Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

379 reviews

theravenlyn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

spectacular omg the mystery was so tasty

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

emalderwood's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense 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

5.0

After the last book's ending I thought I'd need a while before reading this but the characters wouldn't get out of my head, so finally gave in. Even with my heartbreak from the previous book this sequel did NOT disappoint. It was somehow like reading a puzzle with constantly changing rules and pieces and with the same weirdness and humour I loved from the first book (albeit not *quite* as pronounced due to the circumstances). Tamsyn Muir's use of POV and other clues to build to the climax was the kind of creative boundary pushing I want more of in my reading, and absolutely brilliant. You may think you can predict what's coming, but then there will still be twists you never expected and still more twists you hadn't dared hope for but were executed like a surprise gift just for the reader. I have no idea where this trainwreck is going next but I'll be on the next train because after this second installment I trust Muir to bring it to a spectacular and amazing conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Vomit, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide and Torture

steph_weigle's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Body horror, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Gore, Eating disorder, Infertility, Medical content, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Confinement, Bullying, Cancer, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Violence, Vomit, and War

Minor: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Infertility, Animal death, Genocide, and Suicide

alica2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

ough......this one was rougher to get through than Gideon the Ninth, and way more confusing LOLOL but when it all came together it was worth it. I also felt super satisfied in calling one of the main twists, and I LOVE a good use of second-person POV (it was cool when NK Jemisin did it in The Stone Sky and it was still cool here). Much more chilling and creepy than Gideon the Ninth, I felt tense almost the whole time what with

the stalkeresque threat to Harrow on the ship, iykyk

. I LOOOVED the soup scene, like

the way that I wasn't expecting it all, the way that I could practically FEEL Harrow's paranoia and deliriousness from lack of sleep, the way she used her own freaking bone marrow, like girl??????

. Huge content warnings for self harm and just poor mental health in general. Harrow's visions and psychosis were particularly triggering for me and rough to read...

I cried again when

Gideon's POV kicked in

because like eugh the yearning and loneliness and despair... Also I really loved Ianthe in this one, like I hate her but I love her LOLOL she's an amazing character and I want to study her under a microscope. Ending spoiler

I almost yelled out loud when she saved the emperor from the hell hole or whatever, like girl!!!!! We were all rooting for you and you fumbled it big time!!!!!!!

Also

John's whole deal in general...I got completely fucking taken in by him and kept making excuses for why he wouldn't help Harrow and then he just like. Of course ends up being evil!!! Because no one should ever live as long as he has!!! But it was terrifying to see how frank and unconcerned he was about everything during the final confrontation with his Lyctors...like damn top ten villains for sure

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Violence, and Self harm

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

kejjywithcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense 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

5.0

I'll remember this book for a very long time. What a wild ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Body horror

aimnorth's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

A wonderful book full of twists and turns. A beautiful look at grief, as well as religion and our relation to religious ideas. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, and Body horror

They're necromancers, so death and gore is a huge thing.

larbster90's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

I never know what’s going on in these books but I enjoy them anyway

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, War, and Vomit

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Child death, and Terminal illness

coolfijiwater's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Grief

ladythana's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense slow-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: Grief, Gore, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Vomit, Violence, Blood, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Gaslighting, Dementia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Gun violence, Self harm, Abandonment, Bullying, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Medical trauma

Minor: Body shaming and Colonisation

trash_candra's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

HtN makes the bold choice to not be anything like the previous book and instead use the intricate world building and magic system to spin a truly bizarre mystery with so many open ended questions, as well as multiple whodunnits where the concepts of death and identity are ambiguous at best because of the bizarre engine the world runs on. 

This book is a mystery book and figuring that out is the first mystery. I have never been so utterly confused by a book I've read for fun, yet somehow I managed to stick through the grueling first 30% of the book. Harrow the Ninth managed to give me a sense of rabid fan-theory crafted that is so rare to come across but absolutely thrilling to experience. Whenever I wasn't reading the book I was always thinking about it in the back of my mind.

I think HtN is a must-read for a very specific crowd of people who love mysteries and are okay going extended periods of time not knowing what's happening and struggling to make sense of everything. Think ARG fans and cryptic games enthusiasts (like Yume Nikki or Pathologic). I think it's absolutely worth the struggle and time investment but it's definitely not for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Body horror, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Genocide