Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

24 reviews

jlboro's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Katherine Arden swung for the fences in this novel and I believe she really knocked it out of the park. 

Don’t go into this book if you want “more like the Winternight Trilogy”. These two works really can’t be compared and if you do, you’ll be disappointed because it’s extremely different - from scope and scale, writing style, time period, vibes, etc. I love it when artists do this and I’m here for anything Arden throws our way from here on out.

The first half of this book is visceral and dark. This is literally in the trenches of WWI and dealing with PTSD from multiple disasters. The second half is when our cast of characters really begin to weave and diverge together and the ending result is solid all around. 

My only complaint is I would have liked more of the second half of the book, maybe more of a 1/3 to 2/3 dynamic and more time with our characters post “resolution”. Maybe even some more information at the end on resources, photos, etc. in how she found her inspiration for this story. 

I’m so glad this story happened - thank you Katherine Arden and team for taking a risk in a climate and industry that doesn’t always reward that behavior. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

nimeneth's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is one of those books that I don't even think I can explain why I liked it. It was grim, and dark, and unsettling for the middle half, and yet it was fantastic at the same time. Maybe it's that it's almost madness given form. Maybe it's that Arden didn't shy away from just how ugly war can be, but did it in such a way that it didn't make it unpalatable, just stark and inescapable. Whatever it was, once Laura got to France I couldn't put it down and wound up plowing through the bulk of this in an afternoon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

kirtreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This book took me over two months to read because it is raw, emotional, dark, and does not throw punches. I had to listen in bits and then process and then come back. I can understand why the author calls this “the fiend”. I normally hate war fiction but this felt so raw and real, and I actually cared about the characters. 

This novel isn’t sad for the sake of being sad. I think Kathrine Arden actually does a great job of capturing the inexplicable and crazy hope that people can have in their darkest moments. However, it still is dark. The ending will crush you, but it is so worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide, Abandonment, Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

courtknee_bee's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

5 stars

A phenomenal, awe-inspiring book. Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale] trilogy is one of my favorites, so I had very high expectations for The Warm Hands of Ghosts. This is much a different novel: bleaker and sadder, as one might expect from a book about WWI. But there was so much hope, too. There are magical elements, Paradise Lost allegories, and maybe even some references to the Bear trilogy if you squint. 

This isn't exactly an escapism book, but the story is so moving. There's hints of romance, but this book is about familial love at its core. I loved it. Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content

Moderate: Blood and Fire/Fire injury

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Terminal illness, Vomit, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Classism, Cursing, Deportation, and Sexism

readingonfordearlife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Mental illness

laurenbnerd's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Death, and War

lauriej's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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: Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Torture, War, Murder, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood

crabs_with_sticks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.5

Fun fact, every chapter title in this book is a quote from revelations (that bit in the bible which talks about the end of the world), which was very thematic for this book. Otherwise, this book is a subtle and elegant exploration of the world ending (and starting again), choosing living with trauma, and the tragedy of saving somebody for someone else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, War, Blood, and Violence

lilyoliviareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow this one broke me. The horrors of WW1 painted so viscerally, combined with the themes of humanity, perseverance and love, was just heart shattering. I'll be thinking about Freddie, Laura and Winter for a long time. 

Now I need a Novella of them all living happily ever after please and thank you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, and War