Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Haşhaş Savaşı by R.F. Kuang

2506 reviews

annablanna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

Dark and mystical. The most realistic portrayal of war I've read in fantasy literature– there are no happy endings. Was wild to finish it off whilst a little high on (hospital-issued) drugs when drugs were a main focus of the text. Another killer text from Kuang.

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sph108's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

This book is dark and violent but worth it. Covers themes of good and evil and whether they can be the same 

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mei33's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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jane_farstrider's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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matttruss's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

Contains maybe the most brutal description of the evil of war, genocide, hatred, and torture I have ever read in a book.  However, it's not just brutal and grotesque for shock value, it very much serves a purpose and gets you in the same headspace as the main character so you can understand why she makes some of the worst possible decisions again and again.  Hatred is a strong theme in this book and it's fascinating to explore and watch the train wreck unfold.  The polar opposite of a pacifist/love thy enemy mindset this book explores the implications of hating an enemy so much you would destroy yourself to destroy them.  Themes of gods, why bad things happen to good people, the impact of deciding someone is less than human, the cost of war, and revenge, are all explored.  What starts as a typical "smart character gets sent to military academy" fantasy trope ends as a brutal artifice of war.  The book tackles several historical issues in a very clever way and really makes you think.  I really enjoyed.  Slight knock for me for the over-explanation of war tactics and strategy.  If you're into that kind of thing, this is a five star book, it just makes me glaze over.

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enaraccoon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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_dani's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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mladerer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0


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sabberg6's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative 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

5.0

everyone should read this

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mmccombs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Truly devastating and absolutely captivating to read! I loved Babel and had this sitting on my shelves forever, I think intimidated by how much I hoped to love it, and after finally taking the plunge I was rewarded by an equally rich, nuanced, and beautifully written story (and a debut no less!).

 I knew vaguely that this book was based on real Chinese and Japanese history, but had no idea how deeply it drew from the Sino Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre, which compels me to know more about this time in history (whenever a book makes me want to read more, particularly to seek out nonfiction, that is a huge accomplishment!). Obviously, because of this history, this book got dark and gruesome and hard to read, but I think Kuang included these parts (particularly chapter 21) tastefully and with a hope for the reader to understand the brutal gravity of war and informed Rin’s complicated response to it.

Rin’s character is so moving, I was prepared for a “morally gray” character but I think got so much more than that. She is funny, furious, sharp, naive, scared, brave… the list goes on, and I can’t wait to continue her character arc. I loved watching her, and the people around her, wrestle with history, with evil, with what one should do with power, and what one owes to their country. This touches on colonialism and racism in a way I think Kuang expanded upon and did much more interestingly in Babel, but it was cool to see those roots here. 

I cannot wait to talk about this one in my bookclub, I think this will make for a great conversation, and I equally cannot wait to get into the rest of the series!

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