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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
this was a rly good book still, filled w/ the series' signature intricate war strategies, politicking, and complex motivations that culminated in satisfying and sometimes surprising character development, exploring themes of war and power, and adeptly showing that yts are shit, as so are most men (fcking nezha man..).
my major issue, however is w/ the middle chunk: this book's thick and filled w/ events, but part 2 was kinda forgettable somehow, w/ most of the battles blurring into one another. i know that things happened but i still cant recall what exactly. nevertheless, my fav thing abt this book is hands down the relationship between rin and kitay; i'll be ok w/ everything turning to shit as long as kitay's ok. looking forward to seeing how going up against rank yts and snotty aristocrats w/ popular support will turn out for rin and her (sadly now very numerically diminished) gang.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Violence, Confinement, War, and Addiction
Moderate: Colonisation, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Torture
charlereads'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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Colonisation, Cursing, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Abortion, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Vomit
violaceae'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Abortion, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Infidelity
Minor: Abandonment
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
As the people who read my review of the poppy war will know, I love the character and worldbuilding in this series. R.F. Kuang shows us the brutality of war in a really graphic way. And I believe this is the only way to make people see the history of humankind. A lot of readers have problems with the gruesome depictions of war in this series but this is how war looks like. The most horrendous things have been done in wartime’s and we have to acknowledge the fact that humanity could have been spared a lot of horrors if we would just accept each other. R.F Kuang says it best: “They believe in a singular and all-powerful deity, which means they cannot accept the truth of other gods. And when nations start to believe that other beliefs lead to damnation, violence becomes inevitable.”
Why did I give this amazing book 4 stars instead of five? The start of this book is slow. At around a hundred pages the story picks up but around 300 pages it falls flat and I had to fight till around 500 pages in for the plot to pick up again.
This book could have been better and I feel one of the reasons that this happens is because there isn’t a lot happening between the characters. We don’t really get scenes where they get to know each other. This book focuses on the war talk and the strategy behind fights and sometimes you head just needs a break and some human interaction between characters could do the trick.
I would still recommend this series though! The books are amazing but before you start reading them check the triggerwarnings!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Trafficking