Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Leopardo Negro, Lobo Vermelho by Marlon James

146 reviews

holly_ey's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

4.5

I don't often write reviews but this book has left me reeling to the point of needing an outlet. I understand the comparisons to Tolkien and Game of Thrones but honestly that doesn't do justice to this book; all have their own brilliance but this is purely a different beast. The rage and sorrow painted throughout are visceral, the world is a red-hot fever-dream full of genuinely horrific monsters, human or otherwise (and has left me urgently needing to work on my woeful knowledge gap in African folklore), and the brutality makes it by far the darkest novel I've ever read. And yet somehow James also builds in a deeply human love story, or several really, entwining the various angles on love and complex human relationships with a violent dissection of human nature. It was hard-going at times due to the sheer density of information and images to absorb - I think it took me about five times longer to read than most books of this length - but it was worth it.

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t_thekla's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.5

last chapter slapped

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

2.0

I don't think this one was for me. The cover, stunning. The content of the book, interesting in theory. The execution, was not for me. It felt too long and was a very slow read/listen. The narrator was great, but I could not keep my attention on the story to save the life of me. 
It's also pretty graphic so def look up content warnings. I won't be picking up the next one in this series even though the cover once again is stunning. I'll check something else out from this author to see if maybe it's just this book and not the author that I'm not enjoying because I've heard good things about some of his other work while this book seems pretty divisive.

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debthebookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't pay a lot of attention to book buzz, so I didn't know this one existed until a friend gave it to me.

And oh my God, what a book! I don't say many books are raw, but this just might be the most raw and definitely not for the faint of heart OR anyone looking for a quick read. This book is DENSE, and the most wild of frame stories to ever exist, as sometimes you're pulled through another frame into a nother mini-story. It got to a point where I forgot Tracker was telling this story from a jail cell and was mad when I was reminded. The way the whole story gets revealed, with its twists and heart-breaking turns, is masterfully done in a style not familiar to Western civilization, but very true to heart if you know anything about African mythology or storytelling. I would like to read more of Marlon James's work in the future!

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softanimal's review against another edition

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I love the rich imagery, imaginative storytelling, and lush world-building but the level of intensity is not where I'm at right now. Strong trigger warnings come with this one. The content warnings under "graphic" occur multiple times in each chapter.

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hughesie's review against another edition

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3.0


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cringeisen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


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minxtte's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No

3.0


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via_email's review against another edition

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

2.5


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fox_at_the_circus's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. Tracker is a great main character and I love how sarcastic and cheeky he is. It makes the dialogues very funny. I liked the other characters, too. They're all well fleshed out and I like that we get a backstory for (almost) everyone.
The world this book is set in is super cool! With the main characters travelling all over the continent, we really get to see all the different cultures and cities and the differences between them. I also like how many different ways there are for people to gain some special abilities, magic, white science,.. some people, like tracker, just have a special ability and it never gets explained. It adds to the fantastical feeling of the world.
The ending really hurt me. Tracker got his nice life and a resolution and a family and it's only shown in a poem/song and then the last part takes it all away. I had tears in my eyes.

This book deals with a lot of heavy topics (see the trigger warnings), and in my opinion it does it pretty well, but it is definitely not for everyone.

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