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bitter_critter's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There is a decently thick line between characters that are morally bad or questionable and characters that are just unlikeable. I found Logen and the Dogman kind of interesting but every other character whose POV we can read was boring and flat.
Maybe it's something you would like and could connect to, but this fell flat for me.
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Ableism, and Slavery
Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Animal death, Blood, and Child abuse
arian_dragonelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Torture, Death, Gore, Murder, Classism, Blood, Cursing, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
Minor: Physical abuse
mmefish's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
- Glokta and his crew. Terrific.
- How insufferable Jezal is.
- Very accurate portrayal of one's personal struggles.
- Humour.
- There's only 2 female characters (neither is a main character), both with minimal development.
- Too much "sucking on gums".
- The book is at least slightly racist. The only slaves we see (so far) are black, the southerns portrayed as savages, and one of the (few) characters with dark skin behaves like an animal. She literally hisses, wants nothing but to kill, jumps on tables to claw someone for no particular reason, described as to smell like piss, etc. She was a slave, not raised by wolves. Really unnecessary.
- Taking in consideration that it was written in 2006, reading multiple times that someone (a man) "fought/shrieked/cried/behaved like a girl/woman" was still a bit frustrating.
- Overexplanation. For example:
[Someone is getting whipped] Ferro twitched and winced at the sound, and her back began to tingle.
Where the scars were.
Almost as if she'd been whipped herself.
Dewy old eyes peered up and down. "Yes?"
"Inquisitor Glokta."
"Ah, from the Arch Lector?"
Glokta frowned, surprised. "Yes, that's right." They cannot be half so cut off from the world as they appear. He seems to know who I am.
Either way, I kinda see where this is going, and I can't say I like it. Plot is definitely the weakest thing about "The Blade Itself".
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Murder, Classism, Racism, Torture, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gore, Animal death, and Slavery
apiecalypsejen's review
- 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
Graphic: Trafficking, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Addiction, Racism, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Drug abuse, Cursing, Confinement, War, Violence, Kidnapping, Gore, Genocide, Alcoholism, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Self harm, Physical abuse, Excrement, Drug use, Death, Sexual violence, Vomit, Body horror, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Bullying
Minor: Rape
coulro's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, Gore, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Murder, Torture, War, Body horror, and Animal death