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solari'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
3.75
An introduction to racism and colonialism are bad, told in a fantasty setting.
Ive never had an author condescend to be before but wow.
Graphic: Bullying, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Deportation
Minor: War
As an adult fantasty reader I was intrigued by the premise when reccomended this book by multiple friends. However it seems to be an interesting heartbreaking revolution tale wrapped up in magic school wrapping paper. Perhaps better for middle school or high school readers? For fans who have graduated from Harry Potter? I was also a bit disappointed by the lack of intersectionalism, when both racism and sexism are given their space.scmiller's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Deportation
griffin_7'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
chiwirite'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
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
slinders'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: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Torture, and Abandonment
elenaluisa'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: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
spineofthesaurus'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Excrement, and Car accident
gen_wolfhailstorm'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
Where do I begin. This was perfection in a novel... Bold words, I know.
This straight away reminded me of a recent read, being Jonathan strange and Mr norrel in tone, but I would say more accessible, which is funny because one of the main things I loved about this novel was how academic this was. I've always liked the idea of dark academia but always thought I'd struggle to understand the information, (probably why I leaned away from this for so long), but it was so reader friendly in its prose and so fascinating that I couldn't help pour over every word. It was so surprisingly easy to read that I barely minded the lack of consistent short chapters.
As well as being visceral in the vibe of the genre, it wasn't shy on having substance.
The plot was thick and intricate, with threads of conspiracies and beautiful detailing on the science behind silver-working (the magic system in this world). The conversations on interpretation, colonialism, building into a corrupt Empire was just so powerful to read about.
The victorian setting was lush, filled with jaw dropping descriptions of an imagined Oxford in what you could call this alternate history, and the early tour of the Institue of Language itself was fascinating.
Speaking of language, the etymology was so thorough, fascinating and deep. I loved seeing how different languages connected, and in this case, paired together to create something quite magical, yet equally dangerous in the wrong (and of course, powerful) hands.
Our characters..Oh what can I say that hasn'y been said before?
I Ioved the friendship demonstrated here, especially between Robin and Ramy. Seeing our main four characters explore Babel from their varying and diverse perspectives and as novice scholars of language was such a delight.
I appreciated getting interludes of the other threes upbringing and history, because the story is mainly told from Robin's perspective, so it was nice to change it up a bit and appreciate a bit more of the other characters. Even if we didn't have that, I could never accuse Robin, Ramy, Victoire and Letty of being flat characters. They felt real.
The whole time, pacing was brilliant. This was especially noticed at times when I was listening to the audio.
I feel like I learned so much during my time in this world. I'm left heartbroken and in awe at the sheer aduacity of excellence R.F. Kuang had in crafting this whole piece together. Coming into this as the first novel I've read from this author, I now understand that all the praise is well deserved and I look forward to trying out her other novels.
A note on the audio - the voices and accents the narrator could flit between was so impressive. He sounded like a BBC news reporter for the first time, but this was quite endearing as time went on.
I loved blended reading this one (physical and audio). It felt like my own little match-pair.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Car accident, and Alcohol
black_cat_iiix'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: Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Physical abuse, Police brutality, War, and Deportation
cardboard'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: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Deportation
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol