Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

49 reviews

martinatan's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

Really stuck the landing on this one!!! I was so skeptical reading through the middle part that the ending wouldn’t be satisfying but it turned out to be thrilling, heart wrenching, really intriguing and only a little confusing. I felt myself a little lost in the buildup of more lore every so often but that was more because I got distracted often while reading, and I had read The Obelisk Gate over a year ago. I think all the characters’ endings felt true to their character development, although

Lerna’s death was so surprising and sad and just a twist of the knife that felt it was done to in just further push how tragic Essun’s life has been as a mother and a partner

. But idk that’s my first impression having just read that scene 30 minutes ago. In terms of actual lore and thematic development as well as experimental writing style, this was a really spectacular conclusion overall to the trilogy and helped solidify the cohesiveness of all three books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Colonisation, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Medical content, Slavery, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Violence

thenextbookdilemma's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

biobeetle's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Body horror, and Death of parent

Moderate: Murder and Medical trauma

Minor: Pregnancy and Terminal illness

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

Not sure how exactly to word a review. For a book I was blown away by. It has its faults but otherwise it was a rock solid ending to the trilogy (ah rock puns). 

“I think,” Hoa says slowly, “that if you love someone, you don’t get to choose how they love you back.” 

the devastating and ugly consequences of oppression, exploitation and racism that humanity keeps returning to through the long history of this series is also tampered by moments that give us hope that humanity can change and may change for the better after this conclusion 

It’s hard to explain without reading all of the series but it is emotional and gut wrench but filled with a lot of love

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Body horror

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

What an end to this series. The world building was incredible though very complex. I will ceaselessly love all three of the main characters. Very sad too, especially with getting all the background information and how everything is built on racism and xenophobia. Important for the very same reason. 

Found Family, Complex Discussions of Racism

“No need for guards when you can convince people to collaborate in their own internment.”

“Well, some worlds are built on a fault line of pain, held up by nightmares. Don’t lament when those worlds fall. Rage that they were built doomed in the first place.”

“(It bothers her that she does this, watching him constantly for shifts of mood or warnings of tension. It is another thing she learned from Jija. She cannot seem to shed it with Schaffa, or anyone else.)”

“But there are none so frightened, or so strange in their fear, as conquerors. They conjure phantoms endlessly, terrified that their victims will someday do back what was done to them—even if, in truth, their victims couldn’t care less about such pettiness and have moved on. Conquerors live in dread of the day when they are shown to be, not superior, but simply lucky.”

“I think,” Hoa says slowly, “that if you love someone, you don’t get to choose how they love you back.”

“There are stages to the process of being betrayed by your society. One is jolted from a place of complacency by the discovery of difference, by hypocrisy, by inexplicable or incongruous ill treatment. What follows is a time of confusion—unlearning what one thought to be the truth. Immersing oneself in the new truth. And then a decision must be made.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Slavery, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Death of parent, Blood, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Death, Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia

frankieclc's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Xenophobia

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Genocide, Death of parent, Body horror, Blood, Cursing, Classism, Violence, Murder, Medical trauma, Gore, Racism, Colonisation, Death, Xenophobia, War, and Racial slurs

diken's review

adventurous fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Death, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Cannibalism, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Violence, and War

hailstorm3812's review

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-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

5.0

This book is bursting with hope. It just keeps reminding you that yeah, life is hard, and people can be awful but also life should be great and people make it worth living. The POVs work really well to reinforce these ideas. My only thing is that sometimes the fantasy and scifi elements clash but that also kind of helps thematically.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, and Genocide

Minor: Pregnancy, Murder, Terminal illness, and Cannibalism

proceduralbob's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy