Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

19 reviews

speterson47's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

I've yet to not enjoy a Naomi Novik novel. The variety of characters and the depth shown from so many of them I think it was most drew me to this story. Miryem, the child of a moneylender, gains a reputations for turning silver to gold, and after the Staryk king hears of it, Miryem's fate is shifted. When beginning to read it I thought that would be the end of the story if Miryem was able to "produce" the promised gold, however the interweaving of other complex storylines really kept this one going. I listened to the audio version so occasionally I stumbled in understanding exactly which character I was following, but I didn't find that to be a deterrent for me. Would highly suggest for fans of fantasy.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault and Kidnapping

Minor: Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Child death, Torture, Alcoholism, and Antisemitism

a_rash_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful relaxing 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Grief, Kidnapping, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, and Death of parent

kurumipanda's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal death, Rape, Xenophobia, Blood, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Classism

kateceratops's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault

There isn't a lot of violence, but two or three scenes get very intense.

starlit_pathways's review

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Grief

Minor: Sexual violence and Rape

readwithde's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense 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: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Misogyny

Moderate: Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Blood, Classism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and War

Minor: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Gore, and Confinement

haley49's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

This was such an intricate and beautiful fantasy. All the povs fit together so well and told a story that was masterfully done. There were some skimmable parts, too many povs, some pacing issues, and a need (in my opinion) for more side character character depth. However, in the end the world building and continuous story was so well done I couldn’t help but enjoy it. I liked how the MC was Jewish as I hadn’t seen that in fantasy and you can really see how it effects her life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Abandonment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Violence, and Torture

theinkedpath's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

4.75

ES:

Un retelling interesante y oscuro...largo a veces, pero bellamente escrito.

EN:

A very compelling story that spins the Rumpletilskin story a bit. Very atmospheric and dark, it tells its narrative as a very well-crafted spider web.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

naomi_k's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Physical abuse, Violence, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Confinement, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cursing, Classism, Animal death, Death of parent, and Miscarriage

archaicgambit's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

My friends told me I would love this book and they were right (I was worried I wouldn't, since I didn't really like A Deadly Education). Every chapter very carefully built up pieces of the narrative that had super rewarding payoff. The characters were so vivid, and the different perspectives had such strong voices. Even characters like stephon, whose POV I worried I would not enjoy, grew on me.
Mirantius's POV was super fascinating. I loved how every character made difficult choices, and even worked against each other at different points, but you could feel their reasoning was completely sound. Irina and Miryem are brilliant and cutthroat but in different ways. I loved Miryem's selfishness borne out of her parent's selflessness, and how it was both a flaw and a strength. These characters are so rich and complicated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Antisemitism

Moderate: War and Violence

Minor: Rape