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amalas_bookstop's review against another edition
- 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
This book is a straight masterpiece. It is so refreshing to read a victorian age dark academia novel through the eyes of people of color. I cannot fully grasp how she was able to touch on so many topics. From classism to racism to economics she covered it all masterfully. I was learning new scopes of language as I was trying to read this.
Her characterization of Letty and the and white guilt was so spot on. My mind is still reeling. Her characterization of being a person of color who is provided opportunity and the guilt/shame you can sometimes feel was also spot on. I did not know that my soul needed to read a view point of this age that is not told by the white majority. This was like therapy and a history lesson all in one.
A required read.
Graphic: Islamophobia, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Suicide, Racial slurs, War, Toxic relationship, Gore, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Misogyny
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Slavery
smiley_ari's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Could have been 5 stars but there were periods where I felt it dragged a little, and at times the writing felt very “hand holding” and repetitive when talking about the various characters and their experiences with colonization.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Racism, Gun violence, Colonisation, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Torture, Islamophobia, and Violence
Minor: Slavery
garyosu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Racial slurs, Torture, Toxic friendship, Cultural appropriation, Kidnapping, Suicide, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Racism, War, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
kmturpie1025's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Toxic friendship, War, Grief, Torture, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment and Suicidal thoughts
gbeene's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Racial slurs, Gun violence, Violence, and War
Minor: Suicide, Abandonment, Sexism, Torture, Toxic friendship, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
crybabybea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
First of all, the dark academia aspect was done very well. It felt atmospheric, grand, with a hint of mystery. It felt gloomy in a really fun way. The settings outside of the tower itself were less immersive, but the majority of the story takes place inside the tower anyway so it wasn't too distracting. The dark academia vibe was a genius way to explore a story about decolonization and racism. The magic system was inventive and interesting, and I liked how it stood as a metaphor for the industrial revolution.
The characters were just okay. We get to see Robin, the main character, the most, and I felt really attached to him by the end. The other characters had interesting stories that I felt didn't get explored enough. I understand this book leans in to its literary side, and the characters and arguably the entire plot are just allegories for bigger issues, but I think this made the character work suffer and it made the explosive ending pack less of a punch. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ending, and I still cried, but some of the other moments that were meant to be heavy-hitting fell flat because I didn't feel the connection to the characters. The found family aspect didn't feel fleshed out enough because of this as well.
I think the character work is a side effect of Kuang's tendency to overexplain things rather than actually have things happen. Some of the messaging was so on the nose that it felt pedantic and almost condescending at times. I wanted to read this book to challenge my thinking, and I hoped it would leave me with lots of thoughts to reflect on afterward, but everything gets explained to you so plainly that it completely ruins the amazing research and work Kuang put into telling the story of racism and colonization in academia. I mean, there were literally times when something racist or sexist would happen, then the narrator would have a whole paragraph to say something like "Robin wonders if this white person realized how racist they were being". It got irritating... I felt like I was on Sesame Street. I will say the writing itself was done very well, the prose was accessible despite the scientific, historical, and literary references used, and I appreciated a lot of R.F. Kuang's comments and her sarcastic footnotes.
The last issue is the pacing, which I think is also a side effect of this "telling not showing" issue. This book only gets good around the 60-70% mark. It had an extremely slow start with very little intrigue. We spent a long time in lectures and I felt not enough time was dedicated to furthering either the charcters OR the plot. It was a lot of sitting around and waiting. I don't mind books that have a hill into a snowball second half, but I almost put this book down multiple times because nothing was happening, then one minor action would happen and I would finally think we were going somewhere, just for it to slow down again.
All these issues made for a really weird reading experience where I absolutely dreaded picking the book back up, then when I started reading it was just fine and I wanted to know more, then it would get boring and the cycle repeated. I expected more from the rave reviews but left feeling like its potential got wasted. I still do think it's a good read overall, but it could have been better.
Graphic: Grief, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Addiction, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Violence, Torture, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, War, Xenophobia, Death, Vomit, Murder, Drug abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, and Genocide
corvus_ace's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Grief, Racism, Torture, Death, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Classism, and Colonisation
cherryfreckle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Hate crime, Classism, Death, War, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Grief, Emotional abuse, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexism, and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Alcohol
broken_biscuits's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Police brutality, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Blood, Hate crime, Body horror, Death, Grief, and Murder
paigereitz's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Murder, and Torture