Reviews tagging 'Blood'

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

70 reviews

darkmattersoybean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Vomit, and Violence

teo_rodas's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit

fungivibes's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Vomit

booknerd85's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

When I picked this book in the library, I thought the blurb was quite strangely written. Now that I've read the novel, I understand that it's really hard to summarize An Unkindness Of Ghosts, because its plot (a young woman surviving in an immense ship traveling through space) is only one aspect of the whole. I thinks its main strength is in the characters' voice, especially Aster, the main character (she's not the only one telling the story). I must admit that it's the first time I read a book by an autistic author with an autistic character, so I'm really not in a position to judge the book. The author is also Black and non-binary, and questions of racism and identity are at the heart of the book. I appreciated the varied representations and the tension building throughout the narrative, but be warned, this is a harrowing book. Solomon draws from centuries of oppression by white people and does not shy away from the darker parts of this dark, shameful history. It's a book that reads like a scream while also celebrating the diversity of Black & queer voices, in a Sci-fi setting turned towards the past. 

Rep: Black autistic character, genderqueer character, aro/ace character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

cleo_wylde's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault

Moderate: Slavery

ehmannky's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

A fantastic read. It's not often that you find works of science fiction that truly feel like they get and come from the lineage of Octavia Butler, but that's the only author whose work I can think of that relates to this work. It deals with hierarchies in a similar way, but Solomon's writing shows that the recreation of hierarchies, especially within a society like America, is not going to be solved by simply getting off planet. 

Also this isn't, like, smart or insightful like so many of the other reviews here but

I am so glad Theo wasn't secretly evil. I am so glad I loved his character so much.

TW: A lot of talk of suicide, suicide ideation, suicidal tendencies, etc. I feel like most people who get into the book like me are aware that it's going to incorporate slavery and get into the graphic and horrific slavery based on the real life horrors of America, but I do not know if I was aware of just how much suicide was in this book. As someone with a personal experience with loss from suicide, it wasn't enough to put me off, but it could be for others. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Slavery, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Homophobia and Drug use

Minor: Pregnancy

megplant's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

hanarama's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

On the generation ship Matilda, Aster is a healer and one of the slave-caste that makes up the lowest rungs of the ship's society. When the death of the ship's sovereign reveals strange links to Aster's long dead mother, she seeks to unravel the mystery left in her mother's journals while struggling against the oppression against her and her people. 

I really loved the coding of Aster as neurodivergent. Solomon characterizes her as unwavering and immensely intelligent while also traits that read as neurodivergent. She stims as she navigates the ship, she fixated, and she has difficulty with metaphors. Solomon has real skill in creating characters that feel like complete people. 

This is a really intense book. As would be expected of a sci-fi slave story, there aren't a lot of "happy" moments. Moments of respite maybe, but not really any truly happy moments and the book can feel pretty bleak at times. The plot is not as tightly written as it perhaps could have been at the end, but Solomon still makes powerful statements on systemic racism and acts of resistance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Abortion, Violence, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Body horror, Blood, and Ableism

xoodlebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Vomit

Minor: Infertility