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amsswim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
For lovers of magical fantasy and characters with significant interpersonal relationship issues, this is the books for you. Love the footnotes and constant character pov rotation.
Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Violence, War, Grief, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, and Death
Minor: Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Slavery, and Mental illness
nefariousbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
the imagery and some moments were really strong. I can't deny that and I don't want to. but I just can't figure out why there needs to be so much of it.
Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Racism, Animal death, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Drug use
Minor: Gore, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
lizziaha's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Toxic friendship, War, Murder, Sexism, Classism, Grief, Mental illness, and Racism
Moderate: Slavery, Gun violence, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault
_david_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The language, though challenging at times, never becomes overwhelming. In contrast to other books attempting a dry, academic style, this one strikes a balance that I found surprisingly enjoyable. The story unfolds like an epic legend and I liked the historical fantasy setting combined with the magic. Something in the way that magic was written as something that old grumpy men discuss like modern academics do to science appealed to me. It's a daunting book to pick up, but I am glad I've read it.
Graphic: Death, Classism, Confinement, and Murder
Moderate: Racism, War, and Sexism
Minor: Slavery
blacksphinx'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
4.5
What ultimately robbed it from being 5 Stars in my eyes is that it was too long! This book is fantastic but it didn't need to be over 800 pages. It is maddening how many times characters not sharing information with each other prevents the right action from occurring until hundreds of pages later. There was a point where I thought I was never going to finish this damn thing and I felt about it akin to a textbook I was reading for class. And then we finally get a large jolt of plot progression in the last ~150 so pages that was so satisfying it kept me from from going down to a flat 4 Stars.
Sidenote: this book contains period-typical racism, in both remarks made about Jewish people and one of our main PoV characters being a Black man in London in the early 1800's.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Mental illness, Grief, Classism, Murder, Animal death, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Racism, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Alcohol, and Sexism
Minor: Antisemitism, Transphobia, and Fatphobia
tallnecked_pancakeface's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Slavery
Minor: Mental illness
footnotesrobin_reads's review against another edition
Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, War, and Racism
athryn'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Glad I finally did, it's fantastic. Umberto Eco had an essay in the edition of The Name of the Rose I read that talked about creating a complete world when he wrote his books, and this book does the same thing. It feels like history, a fully realized world, not just what we know of England and the Napoleonic/Regency era, but all of the fantasy elements were well grounded. I love some of the digressions and whole stories going on in the footnotes (I think I sadly missed a couple before I realized that the Kindle was cutting them off,) which really added to the whole world.
Strange and Norrell are really just in the end a couple of nerds, aren't they?
Graphic: Classism and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death and Racism
pvbobrien'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Sexism, and Slavery
kathleencoughlin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Gaslighting, War, and Sexism
Minor: Murder and Death of parent