Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee

10 reviews

laurareads87's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I don’t know why I left so long between reading Ninefox Gambit (which I read in 2020) and picking up this sequel; I really wish that I hadn’t. While this installment felt more approachable and easier to follow than the first – the first really drops you in a world without much, if any, explanation – I did wish I remembered more detail from Ninefox. There is a lot I liked about this – consistent pacing, an interesting cast of characters (though some POVs I did find more interesting than others), fascinating political dynamics and questions; though military sci-fi is isn’t really my usual go-to, Yoon Ha Lee does it so well. The big twist in this one was massively satisfying to me – I didn’t exactly see it coming, and it sets up some really interesting possibilities for the third book without just feeling like a ‘middle book.’ I will absolutely finish this trilogy & probably pick up the collection of related short stories. 

Content warnings: violence, death, murder, war, torture, genocide, suicidal thoughts, suicide (in a battle context), genocide, grief, incest (involving adults only) 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, Grief, Genocide, Violence, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

pedanther's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Torture, Genocide, and War

Moderate: Gore, Medical content, Self harm, Child death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Murder, Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Body horror, Colonisation, Infidelity, Rape, Alcohol, and Drug use

hexillith's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Genocide, War, and Death

Minor: Transphobia, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts

grandiose_r's review against another edition

challenging 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Murder, Violence, War, and Incest

Moderate: Blood, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, and Terminal illness

Minor: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Child death, Sexual content, and Transphobia

mandkips's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Genocide

Moderate: Confinement, Torture, and Incest

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Child death

intoblossom's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Incest, Suicide, and Torture

Minor: Death of parent and Sexual assault

kat_mayerovitch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow, how did this manage to be even better than Ninefox Gambit? Maybe it's because I went into it with a basic understanding of the world and how all the calendar weirdness functions, but this book sucked me in even more quickly. I came to be rooting for all the main characters, even as they worked against one another's goals. Brilliantly done!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Genocide, and Torture

Minor: Incest

cerilouisereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, and Genocide

Moderate: Body horror, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

ellisdex's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Murder, Genocide, Grief, Death, Colonisation, Body horror, and Child death

Moderate: Torture, Rape, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Kidnapping, Drug use, Death of parent, Confinement, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol and Transphobia

therainbowshelf's review

dark slow-paced

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

3.0

As I said after the first book, I typically don't read sci-fi because I dislike its common tropes and dyanmics, which this book was full of. If you enjoy sci-fi, you might enjoy this one too! I did enjoy LGBTQ and gender non-conforming characters getting to exist in a world without prejudice, though. I also loved that the author, who is a mathematician, worked mathematics into the story world so that mathematicians are extremely important. I didn't so much enjoy that every character was depicted as being so empathetically corupt that I didn't believe their genuine character traits. Is this character genuinely interested in his green onion plant, or is he trying to manipulate everyone around him or grow a bomb? Is that character genuinely having a moral chrisis about this messed up situation, or are they trying to manipulate everyone around them? Who knows! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence