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danielleor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Grief, Genocide, Death, and Child death
purplepentapus'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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Trafficking
hanarama's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
• Complex themes of violence and family
• Poetic prose
• Well crafted fight scenes
The Bad:
• Generally clumsy world building
• Redemption arc for an abuser
You Might Like this if You Like:
• The movie Seven Samurai
• Epic battles
I really wanted to like this book. It seems like nearly everyone enjoyed it, but it just didn't gel for me.
My biggest issue was in how sloppy the world building is. This is a supposedly standalone entry in a larger universe. However, to really be standalone, I shouldn't need to be familiar with the other books to enjoy this one. It feels like a lot is glossed over little explanation, with tons of undefined terms thrown at the reader constantly. There's a glossary, but it's very frustrating to have to flip back to it every few pages. And many of the terms add nothing to the story. Was it really necessary to make up a word for an hour and 12 minutes?
Other issues I have are with the story itself. Throughout the story we see Misaki struggle with her marriage. Her husband is cruel and abusive to her and her children,
This combined with the slow start and Misaki's constant ragging on herself made it really hard to enjoy this book.
That said, M.L. Wang is good at writing prose and fight scenes. The multiple chapter battle that fills about a 3rd of the book was perhaps the most enjoyable, and it was where the poetry in Wang's writing shone through the most.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and War
mandkips'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
4.5
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Gore, Blood, Child death, Death, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Infertility, and Child abuse
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“I mean, I knew our government wasn’t transparent—What government is?—but I never imagined anything like this... Maybe if I’d been paying more attention.”
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
m_________'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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia and Racial slurs
WOW WAS THIS BOOK GOOD. First, I want to list out some of the major content warnings for the book (there are out of context spoilers here): \ \ \ \ \ \ physical/verbal/emotional abuse, violence/gore, death, death of children, rape, suicide/suicidal ideations \ \ \ \ \ REVIEW/RANT/GUSH: I was so impressed by The Sword of Kaigen. Everything is done incredibly well: character work, world-building, action sequences, the elemental magic system, the prose - I loved it all. This book is certainly not short, but I genuinely never felt bored by it and, if not for pesky things called sleep and school, would have absolutely devoured it in one sitting. M. L. Wang is not afraid to go there in this book - actually probably even a step past there - and it definitely caught me by surprise in many sections. If there was one stand-out feature, it would be the character work. To give specifics would be spoiler-y, but I love M. L. Wang's characterization and depiction of how various characters struggle with their identity, legacy, and guilt throughout the novel, as well as their progression and the healing they seek in themselves and their relationships. The characters felt so real to me, especially in terms of their morality, in a way that very few characters do. They are all very complex, but their moral complexities are not larger than life, they simply are, and I found that refreshing, particularly in a fantasy novel. In particular, her portrayal of Misaki and her growth from a teenager, to the start of the book, to beyond, is so, so superb. The book follows a very interesting structure where what people would consider the climax of the book occupies its middle chunk, not the just-prior-to-the-end chunk, and it worked SO WELL. It allows the latter part of the book to become very character driven, and I think it was integral to portray what happened after *climax which I won't describe in further detail*. This plot structure definitely wouldn't work for every book or author, but it is absolutely perfect in this case. Lastly, I am also just so impressed by the way the author elicits emotion through her writing. It is not a stretch to say that I sobbed through nearly 50% of the book - and I really don't cry that often while reading (there are notable exceptions, clearly). Despite it being a standalone, everything felt so actualized and real in a way many others can't do in full length series. Highly, highly recommend!!!