Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Empire of Wild

Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

24 reviews

yaoipaddle's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

(Would have been 3 stars but the ending disappointed me enough to move it down to 2.)

I picked this book up because I saw Margaret Atwood recommend it, I'm interested in reading more books by indigenous authors, and I love werewolf adjacent creatures. (The one in this story is a rogarou.)

The setting and the scenes between Joan (main character) and her family are so well written and make me perfectly visualize everything. The small details in character interactions and the places they visit or live in make everything feel so alive and immersive.

One thing I had to get used to is that at least early on the author uses so many pronouns when we're still being introduced to the large cast of characters. I had to reread passages a few times to organize in my head who was doing what or saying what. I'm not sure if the writing got better about naming who did what or if I just got used to it as the book went on.

If you read this book please be aware of the large amount of sexual content most of which is quite graphic. The sheer amount of it in what is a mystery novel surprised me and tbh annoyed me. Everyone other than the kid characters are constantly talking about sex, thinking about sex, or having sex. To the point where I'm just waiting for it to be mentioned yet again in every chapter. Everyone is so freaking horny and most of it is so purposeless to me. Even if you like having sexual content in anything you read, the content in this book feels so out of place so often.

The pacing for most of the book was pretty good. The plot is interesting and gives just enough mystery to make you feel interested but not overwhelmed. And just when I thought the pacing was going too fast I realized that it was pretty well planned!

However by the last few chapters of the book it felt very rushed and everything was a bit to convenient just to wrap the story up.

(There is one scene where Joan travels somewhere, gets angry at something that tbh I felt was just to add conflict and not representative of how she has acted throughout the book, and then gets over it in a couple paragraphs and drives home. :/ Useless.) The last two chapters especially just felt annoying and almost like the author wanted to end on a cliffhanger instead of be content with the story she already finished.

I also felt let down and like some important characters were introduced too late with zero prep and just gone as soon as they came. (No pun intended considering all the sex in this book).

Overall an immersive setting and cast with a fun mystery to keep you on your toes. This all is dragged down by out of place sex and rushed pacing at the end.

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jourdanicus's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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? It's complicated

5.0

Really good. I'm not well versed in werewolf stories but found I didn't need to be to enjoy this book. I found it the perfect balance of plot and character (maybe leaning more toward plot though). If anything I actually wish it had been longer... By the last few moments I was thinking "what, it's over already?! I want more!"

I enjoy Cherie Dimaline's work and will definitely be picking up more by her.

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emsim's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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tree_star's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense

5.0

The only thing I didn't like about this book is the 30 seconds of on page pet murder. Oh hey, CW: Pet abuse/ murder, blood, substance abuse, religious abuse.

I loved this book. I was drawn into the story from the start and kept getting sucked in further and further and actually holding my breath there at the end-!

Scary but unexpected in its execution, the Monster discovery is thrilling, mysterious, and intrepid.
These characters are as flawed as they are likeable, and the storytelling is just magnificent.

Solid 5 stars.

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