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chelbelle122'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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Violence, and War
reedandright's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Gore, War, and Body horror
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Rape, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Blood
sarahweyand's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
T. Kingfisher has created a strange, creepy little world for herself in the Sworn Solider series in which she can do whatever weird and dark things she wants. And it works so well. This book is very different in premise than WHAT MOVES THE DEAD, but our group of odd, loveable characters helps connect this gap and drew me right into the premise of this story just as quick as the first book. This was a quick read that never felt dull, but still managed to improve on the relationships established in the first book.
I do think the premise of WHAT MOVES THE DEAD was a little creepier to me than this plot, but I still really enjoyed myself and think I'll probably pick up a physical copy at some point, which is something I almost never do with ARCs. I really enjoy the intrigue of the worldbuilding and atmospheric elements of this series and I really hope Kingfisher continues with these episodic novellas. A hit, as usual!
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and War
Moderate: Animal death
rhi_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Mental illness
Moderate: War, Animal death, Medical content, and Death
bookishchaos'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Animal death
Minor: Alcohol
jayburding's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Also, I must confess, I have a violent hatred of the trope where characters don't communicate and then react poorly when other characters try and fail to interpret their vagueries. I lost patience with the Widow quickly, which takes some doing in a book this short, and while the ending somewhat redeemed this character choice, the frustration still lingered. Alex's slowness to pick up on supernatural shenanigans, especially after what happened in the previous book, felt mildly farcical and too drawn out, and kan being treated as the resident idiot outstayed its welcome. I was disappointed at how little Miss Potter got to contribute this time, and honestly you could have removed her and called this book a prequel and it might have worked better.
I enjoy Kingfisher's writing, and Alex's character really appeals to me. I'm not a fan of first person so getting me to read it is a victory in itself, and unquestionably enjoy it even more so. I would happily read more of Sworn Soldier, and I hope there is more coming, I just think Kingfisher has a real talent for body horror that could have gone a lot harder in this book, and it would have hit like it did in WMTD. I enjoyed what was here but I wanted more.
Minor: Body horror, Gore, Animal death, Gun violence, and Death
fatfatrat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gore and Animal death
Moderate: War and Death
meganpbell'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, War, Medical content, and Gore
Minor: Death of parent
kittyinatophat'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail
atlas_shruggs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is such a wonderful continuation of Alex's story and I absolutely loved it. It delves so much deeper into Alex's mental state and their experiences in the war, as well as really immersing the reader in Gallacian culture. Alex continues to be an absolutely hilarious narrator, a complete idiot and very aware of it and about as socially awkward as you can get. The folklore woven into the story was also so interesting to me, and I personally liked the slow-burn, except maybe for the fact that everything got resolved in the last 20 pages. I suppose it is hard to make a slow-burn horror novella but I feel that T. Kingfisher did a very good job with this one. Sure this sequel was not nearly as action-packed as the first book, but I feel that it was very atmospheric and focused more on the way folklore can affect cultures as well as exploring the characters themselves.
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder