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vedpears's review against another edition
- 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
2.25
Abundant run on sentences took some getting used to, but I managed to navigate that just fine.
I enjoyed how the story was written in such a way that it was like viewing a large photo by zooming in, then zooming out a bit, zooming in somewhere nearby, zooming out again until the whole picture is revealed.
What I did not enjoy was the overwhelming number of elements that would warrant trigger warnings: sex, rape, child abuse, pedophilia, slavery, bodily harm, mutilation, murder, combinations of all of those at once with a gratuitous serving of explicit language.
The overarching story is intriguing. The characters and concepts borrowed from African history and mythology were woven in very well. If this were written to be less corrosive on the psyche, I would have rated it higher.
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Biphobia, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Vomit, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Ableism, Addiction, Slavery, Stalking, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Excrement, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
It basically has all the trigger warnings, including infanticide.dananator13's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Violence, Torture, Body horror, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Death, Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Blood
nate_b's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was hard to follow at times but well worth the effort and time. It's a long book but so exquisitely told!
The author does not shy away from extremely graphic depictions of the acts of his characters, including sexual assault, murder, and war crimes against children. I actually had to set it aside after the first time I tried listening to it until a time when I was more able to handle the violent opening scene and get into the fascinating characters beyond. Maybe next year I'll be up to listen to the sequel! I hope they get the same narrator. He did a phenomenal job!
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Blood, Bullying, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Rape, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Colonisation, Murder, Cursing, Gore, Trafficking, War, Sexual violence, Child death, Drug use, Sexual content, Classism, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Torture, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcohol, and Animal death
cryptidstar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Rape and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Trafficking, Misogyny, and Slavery
e_asw_97's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Trafficking, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexism, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Body horror, Violence, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Sexual content, and Gore
Moderate: Grief, War, Xenophobia, and Physical abuse
t_thekla's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Slavery, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Death of parent, Excrement, Homophobia, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, and War
lotsa bad stuffsoftanimal's review against another edition
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Child death, Violence, Body horror, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, War, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Infertility, Vomit, Cursing, Excrement, Homophobia, Incest, and Sexual harassment
Nearly all of this book is graphic violence, rape, and child abuse.a0ri's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Trafficking and Rape
victorianrogue's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
ehmannky's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Vomit, Drug use, and Drug abuse