Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

L'Anti-Magicien, 1 by Sebastien de Castell

7 reviews

bibalibz's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful 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

5.0

It's an incredible read and fast-paced without feeling like it's rushing. I became emotionnally invested in all of the characters in one way or another, even the protagonist Kellen, who is fairly unlikeable through most of the book (for good reason, you'll see). I wish I had Ferius' confidence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

tianabooks's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.75

An interesting new fantasy world to explore, with fascinating lore revolving around magic, the significance of its absence, the lengths people will go to protect secrets, and the ability to continue fighting against all odds. 

This book started slowly and it took me a bit to warm up to these characters and the context. Now mind you, this was mostly because apart from 3 characters (and two animals), everyone else was such a horrible person. These characters did vile things 😩 There is some animal cruelty in this by the way, which can be distressing to read about. 

I have to admit I loved the tarot cards displayed and explored throughout the book and I enjoyed seeing our main character become more familiar with them and their significance. The way the characters used the cards was SO cool let’s be fair. 

A solid first book in this fantasy series! I’m intrigued enough to continue reading 🤍

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Blood

Minor: Slavery

jaedia's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Xenophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, and War

melancholymegs's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Gaslighting

Minor: Slavery and Vomit

clairew97's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nekoshka's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Bullying, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Fatphobia, Genocide, Misogyny, Slavery, and Kidnapping

jayecard's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

TL;DR: A fun story that in comparison to my expectations had less actual con game, and more we live in a society (but in a good way). Characters good, gonna see how this continues.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first part of the series, and I will certainly read book 2.

It's not exactly what I expected: I thought I was getting a story about a smart con-artist, which this story has some of, but at its heart, this is a true underdog story. Not just because the main character is an underdog, but it centrally thematizes the power structure that put him in this position - and what he's going to do with it.
Kellen gets nothing. Not even the power of friendship. All he has are some tricks and innovation. And he has to work with that, as he unravels the secrets of his world. This is the concept that the story never betrays, and that's why I liked it so much.

The story is a quick and entertaining read with a surprising depth (and darkness) to its setting. I liked the characters, Kellen is a cool guy and Ferius Parfax is the most fun mentor character I've seen in a long time. It has a cool card motive (a trope I'm weak for) that it uses in a smart way in one scene in particular. I'm gonna hold off on final judgement until I've read more of the series, but so far, I think I might have stumbled over a real undiscovered gem.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Genocide and Colonisation