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chalmy's review against another edition
This book was so overly sexual it made me uncomfortable. It also has a lot of “fluff.”
lbutcke's review against another edition
1.0
Not for me. I started it, but there are too many books on my to read list for me to slog through one I don't enjoy.
alawrence's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
5 stars for being one of the most original fantasy books I’ve read in years. 5 stars again for dear Tracker, our narrator, who captivated me with his brutality and his sweetness, just like his story. Fantastically done. James is an expert. 5/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Rape
warriorcatsstan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
anjugrao's review against another edition
4.0
This is a hard book to get through, not because of the storyline and world building, which is outstanding, but from the graphic imagery and topics into which it delves. I'm not sure if it's all necessary but I know that by halfway through I was completely enthralled with the fully realized world and characters that Mr. James had created. It's obvious there has been countless hours/days/weeks/months of research and it shows in the depth of characters, and settings that are created. The narrative switches back and forth through various stories and creates a fully realized epic. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series but need some time away as well.
bitter_critter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Pregnancy, Confinement, Excrement, Child abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Addiction, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Rape, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Violence, Sexism, Grief, Body horror, War, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Cursing
hart's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
fdap's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It takes a while to get used to the narrative style and the unreliable narrator but overall it’s a good adventure/fantasy with lots of twists and side quests - tw: violence, gore, rape
notesurfer's review against another edition
Black Leopard, Red Wolf is hallucinatory to the point of obfuscation. It's an aimless meander through harrowing vignettes. The prose is very well-written, but that's like saying "This sketch of a rotting corpse is particularly visceral." If there's no perceptible arc and no enjoyable emotions, then why would I keep reading?
stromberg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
In spite of its well-crafted prose and remarkable ingenuity in building out its folkloric world, this novel never really reached me. It is composed of the sorts of elements I’d normally seek out in a book—unabashed formal complexities, an Enkidu-like protagonist, a lusty embrace of queerness, a “fabulist reimagining of Africa” (in the words of Salman Rushie’s blurb)—but in the end I am not the right reader for this story. I find it to be all id, all cruelty and orgiastic butchery and sexual atrocity, replicated in episode after episode (“this happened, then this, then this, then…”) until the nihilistic tedium of ever-iterating longueurs of caustic brutality numbs the senses. I receive the impression of an author so intoxicated by his powers of expression and invention that he neglects to tell a story. Again, the writing is finely done; I read with appreciation but not interest. Perhaps I am sorely missing the point.