Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

43 reviews

ford_defect's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

The beginning of this book is pretty rough. There were multiple times I thought about dnf'ing it (especially since it is so long). The pacing really needs some work. The beginning is super slow, and the main characters were pretty unlikeable (except Hassa) up until about 200-300 pages in. I also thought the treatment the Ghostings got was unnecessary up until 80% of the way through. When it all clicked together, though, my mind was blown. But what really annoyed me was all the fatphobic descriptions of Anoor. They lessened over time, but it rubbed me the wrong way. That, and the author put a lot of emphasis on how much Anoor enjoys food, which is another fatphobic stereotype. Another thing was how Sylah's addiction was portrayed. Major spoilers ahead.

I was so proud of her when she quit her joba seed use (albeit, she only quit cuz Anoor forced her to) and kept it under control throughout almost the entire book. But then, the author has her take a joba seed, so she can defeat Jond in Anoor's place during the trial of combat. And what's even worse: once she sees a healer after having relapsed, the healer tells her to essentially microdose for the rest of her life! I would rather have Sylah find a way to work around her seizures and tremors. The Ghostings have no tongues and no hands and they have found ways to talk and take care of themselves, so why can't Sylah find a workaround for her drug-induced disability? Like you wouldn't tell an alcoholic to keep drinking to prevent the DTs. You have to cut it out completely or it can ruin your life again.

And I had really gotten into the book by that point, too.

But anyway, now I'll talk about what I really liked about the book. The blood magic system was super cool. At first, I wasn't sure how much I liked needing to draw runes to fire a gun (since that would be pretty inefficient if you were slow at writing). Though, the longer I thought about it, the more it grew on me. Bloodwerk requires skill and dexterity, so not everyone would be good at it, which is a good challenge for the MCs that didn't know how to bloodwerk before. Secondly, the atmosphere was quite unique and immersive. Especially since the author wrote about the history of the world, too. The character development was also well done (with the exception of what I said about a part of Sylah's progress). I initially hated Anoor and Sylah, but they evolved so much. I was a little disappointed we didn't see more romance between them.

I came into this book thinking it was gonna be a sapphic romance... but it was more focused on Jond and Sylah's romance. The romantic scenes are still well-written, though. For both pairings.

So 3/5
I would have rated it 4/5 since it got really good halfway through, but I just can't forgive the author for how she portrays Sylah's addiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Violence, Body horror, Self harm, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Sexual content, Gore, Hate crime, Slavery, Addiction, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Torture, and Alcohol

Minor: Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

lindsaybethlyons's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

I loved this book. There is a lot of violence, be warned. The characters, plot, and world-building were incredible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Trafficking, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, and Colonisation

Minor: Rape

salemander's review against another edition

5.0

one of THE fantasy books ever made truly this shit is so goddamn incredible. the characters are so richly made, the commentary on addiction and the perils of empire, the action, the lesbians!!!!!! so fucking well done. can’t wait to read the next one 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, and Drug abuse

porcupine_girl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Drug abuse, War, Addiction, Blood, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Slavery, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Medical content, Self harm, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Ableism, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury

sophiesmallhands's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Colonisation, Genocide, Classism, Death, Addiction, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Child death

Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Vomit, and War

Minor: Bullying

philineselavy's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Blood, Addiction, and Slavery

ms_sarah621's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

4.5

This is a phenomenal story. I had such a hard time putting it down. It was so complex and dealt with so many interesting, important topics. This truly transported me into its world. I was entranced. Sylah is such a powerful character and handles such horrible feats well. She’s creative and determined. Anoor is her opposite. Someone who was exposed to the wrongs in her world and just wants everyone to have a good life. She brings innocence and untainted knowledge/opinions. She is powerful in her own ways. The romance felt slightly forced for me. I felt that the main romance could have been friends that feel a sibling connection, so that threw me off. Overall, the change that these characters will make is something that I have to read. Not to mention, Hassa and all the discoveries with the Ghostings. So moving and such a powerful book of change. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Murder, Classism, Violence, Drug use, and Colonisation

chroniquesdekellen's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Racism, Slavery, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Genocide, and Addiction

kimreads14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

I absolutely LOVED this book! 
I had a hard time at first, because of Sylah’s addiction she just made me so angry most of the time 😂

But oh am I glad I stuck with it! The world building, the magic system, EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THIS BOOK WAS PERFECT! 

Oh and the plot twistS 🧑‍🍳💋 yes with a “S” because I could honestly not fully keep track of everything! I’m sure I missed some very important details for the next book! But I’ll probably re-read it when my hard copy arrives ☺️

Can’t wait to dive into the second one! 🥰

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Slavery, Colonisation, Drug use, Gaslighting, Violence, Death, Excrement, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

thethingwithfeathers's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Classism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Addiction, and Drug use

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts