Reviews tagging 'War'

Leopardo negro, lobo rojo by Marlon James

30 reviews

e_asw_97's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

3.0

this book is a dazzling narrative full of rich imagination and prose. but at times, the pacing drags, and the action becomes dry and repetitive. these small complaints do not detract from the impact and the scope of the narrative, which is unlike anything I have ever read.

I took a full star off my rating, however, because I am disappointed to see how, even in this masterful upheaval of fantasy, women are still made to endlessly suffer, and to be the cause of the male characters' greatest suffering. few, if any, main characters are female, and those who are die quickly, or live only to serve the ends and purpose of the male characters. I want so badly for literature to move past this convention, this unending commitment to a misogynistic ideal, and to engage with it beyond a throwaway line from a supporting character asking the main character why he hates women so much. I could go on about the gratuitous and unsympathetic use of violence and rape in this book, and how the author wholeheartedly fails to resolve his own main character's virulent hatred of women, but to do so would echo decades of criticism of genre and literary fiction. I am simply disappointed that this book, which was lauded for flouting convention and being a "revolutionary" work, simply conformed to the worst parts of its genre. I had hoped for otherwise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Grief, and War

t_thekla's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.5

last chapter slapped

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

lotsa bad stuff

softanimal's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War

Nearly all of this book is graphic violence, rape, and child abuse.

A major plot is about finding abused children and there multiple graphic descriptions of rapes as well as ubiquitous references to sex, gore, sexual violence, and physical and sexual abuse of children.

minxtte's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

fox_at_the_circus's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, and War

Minor: Xenophobia and War

jessthanthree's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Classism

Minor: War

jialianyang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

Wow. A mind-bending page turner with lush, fantastical, vivid descriptions and plot twists and turns. This is a book about friendship, lovers, war, kingdoms and queendoms, myth, adventure, and family that focuses on what or whom is worth fighting for. This is a book that you should not put down because each read will plunge you deep into this world of magical and fantastical characters and events. The story spins beautiful and horrific and awesome tales of loyalty and treachery, of kindness and cruelty, all wrapped up in cultural references to myth and religion. There are worlds within worlds here. Do not pick up this book if you're not ready to get lost.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War

gone_awry's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

4.25

A dark and graphic adventure horror book that holds compelling roots in various African mythologies, and explores queer identities and realities within the context of this grime backdrop. A powerful example of an author working with unlikable characters who lack an awareness of their own short comings, and a compelling rejection of traditional adventure tropes and narratives even as the book proceeds as an adventure. Many rejected calls to adventure, many choices regrettable and cruel. The you main character learns early on from his mentor “no one loves no one” and that ideology permeates so much of his worldview from then on. Fascinating, terrifying, and wholly unique. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Colonisation, and War

rubyellen95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

Trigger warnings for most things that could be triggering so proceed with care. A dark tale of a man who was hired to find a missing boy ten years ago and tells his story to an inquisitor after that same boy has died.

Magic, myth, mystery and graphic psychological horror abound wrapped in a queer romantic adventure about love, family, found family, masculinity, and pride.

There's also misogyny but it's explored as a character flaw of the character that most displays it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Beastiality takes place but there wasn't a content warning for that. I've put all content warnings as graphic as you're very invovled with the characters that experience them and the writing is very blunt so it can be shocking but for most content warnings and readers I would suggest it's more around the moderate warning but better safe than sorry

bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War