Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

138 reviews

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a book you really need to read at least twice to appreciate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, War, Child death, Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

Minor: Eating disorder, Infertility, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Cancer, Incest, and Abandonment

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

larbster90's review

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

whichwayis_weston7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Vomit, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content

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

shottel's review

challenging 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? Yes

4.75

Like Gideon the Ninth, the book-cover reviews and summaries don’t do it justice. Harrow the Ninth is a fantastic, funny, unique, genre-blurring novel whose worldbuilding and mystery-oriented storytelling makes it worthy of reading on their own. To an even greater degree, it is a poignant picture of psychosis and grief. I was not expecting to see in such detail a broken mind, agonized by self-doubt and the mistrust of others, and the crushing weight of immense loss.

Outside of the deep themes of regret, loss, absence, grief, and psychosis, there is much to say positively. Harrow manages to pull off pop culture references and memes humorously, without making me want to throw the book across the room. (Minimally spoiling example: A subtle joke invoking none pizza left beef.) This, combined with a tamer but still present version of the sense of humor that made Gideon distinctive makes for an enjoyable time. It doesn’t lag so hard in the first half like Gideon does (although I do feel it could’ve likely been shortened a good 50-100 pages). The ending was exciting, the payoff for working through over 400 pages of confusion (albeit a well-written 400 pages) deeply worth it. My only gripe is that, without spoiling anything, the last 5 or so pages are a bit confusing and sad in a way I don’t think fits, but this doesn’t harm it enough for me to say the ending was anything but excellent.

Overall, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has read Gideon the Ninth and would be interested in a good mystery or an evocative portrait of disturbed mental faculties.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Self harm

Minor: Pregnancy, Dementia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

boywonder's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

3.75

I liked this better than the last book, which surprised me because I'm not a fan of second-person writing most of the time. I think the effect here is confusing on purpose; the reader is confused because Harrow is confused. 

This book helped me understand Harrow a lot better (though I don't like her all that much, but liking a character has nothing to do with whether they are well-written or a good character). I think the pacing is kind of slow at the start, which is in keeping with the last book.

I don't really like or appreciate the tumblr meme additions like "none x with left y" and things like that. Because I know a bunch of spoilers that come after this, I sort of understand why they might fit, but it doesn't work for me. I also think after the reveal of who the second-person narrator is, the tone changes to be more what you expect from that character and it was almost jarring.

For me, seeing that this author CAN write less snappy on purpose than the last book, I was almost disappointed. The first book really stood out to me as internet writing and this one didn't (for the most part) until the last quarter. Still, overall I like this book better, though I like Gideon as a character more than Harrow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Child death, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: War and Vomit

enyltiak's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Gideon the Ninth was my first five star read of 2023, so I figured it was about time to continue the series. Where the beginning of the first book is a bit confusing in that classic new sci-fi/fantasy world adjustment sort of way, Harrow the Ninth is confusing in a trippy, clueless sort of way where you as the reader are completely in the dark alongside its titular character, feeling your way to some semblance of explanation. It's a slow burn for certain, and not for everyone, but I was personally a fan of the way POV is used in this book.

Despite the confusing nature, I managed to figure out that

Harrow had willfully replaced/removed Gideon from her memory in her grief (though I hadn't known fully why or how, of course)

. The last act of the book is action-packed and so fun. It really sheds light on everything vague that had occurred thus far, so you get some clarity seeing it through to the end. All in all, solid second book and definitely one that strikes a desire to re-read it and see it in a whole new light.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Vomit, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Body horror, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Death

xosirenox's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Vomit, Violence, Death, and Murder