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hailstorm3812'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Cancer, Medical trauma, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, Death, Body horror, and War
andrew_corduroy'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
4.75
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Blood, Body horror, and Colonisation
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Vomit
frogggirl2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The things I liked from the original book (the main character, the scheming and the intrigue) are all still present, but less so, and any strategy and characterization gets buried under too much effluvia. The book would be massively better if every one of these sections that is not part of the main plot was excised. I don't need any other characters' points of view - the plot just follows Baru going from place to place, and yet it's sufficiently boring and convoluted as it is. This doesn't develop the same depths of relationship or examine a cast of side characters in the same complex way as the first book, either. Everyone here, including Baru, seems completely incompetent (what happened to the highly qualified, goal oriented, self contained heroine Baru from the first book?) - it's hard to believe they can even stay alive, let alone run this incredibly potent empire.
This book is a messy slog and a complete disappointment after the excellent first book in the series.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Torture, Alcohol, Colonisation, Self harm, Violence, Cancer, Gore, Miscarriage, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Death, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Suicide
sheiksleopardthong's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Colonisation, Body horror, Death, Excrement, Xenophobia, Blood, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, War, Racism, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Homophobia, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
aileron'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
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, War, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Cancer
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child death, Miscarriage, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Slavery, and Alcoholism
tristanc'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: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, Torture, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Outing
zirogods's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism and Colonisation
beldaran1224's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
That said, there's a lot to like here. The flashbacks and other perspectives, especially the ones for Tau-Indi, are exceptionally well done. I enjoy the way Dickinson uses Baru's injury as a method of narrative obfuscation, though I wish they had been less aggressive in doing so. The world gets broader and deeper in this book, too. I enjoy the way the text plays with
Besides the obfuscation I mentioned above, there are a couple other gripes I have with the text. The first is that the plotting is a bit lackluster. The first novel was redeemed by an insanely compelling and heartbreaking ending, and this book's ending
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Colonisation, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Medical trauma, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Ableism, Stalking, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual content, Gore, Gaslighting, and Cancer
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Forced institutionalization
daturas's review
- 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
Oh no, the consequences of my own actions......
First, as a heads up: there is less talk of graphic colonialism & the "cleanliness" rituals of the first book. It's definitely still there, don't get me wrong. The characters just spend most of the book away from the mainland so it's more of a constant background thing than something we actually have to witness. Still monitor your own mental health and safety when you read it.
Baru has to deal with the loss of the one she loves the most and prove herself to the people she trusts the least. We're introduced to a new cast of wonderfully terrible characters. Dickinson is a master at creating a truly morally grey character, and he finds new and exciting ways to do it over and over again. Every character he introduces has their own agenda. They all have sympathies and they all have points-of-no-return. When reading Baru, I find it easiest to get rid of the urge to pick who you're rooting for and just let things fall as they may. Everyone is entertaining and diverse in the most real sense--each character is different from the one standing next to them by leagues. It's actually a bit incredible, and definitely one of my favorite parts about reading the Masquerade series. I'd love to have a chat with him sometime to learn how he does it.
It's less like "there are no villains because everyone has reasons" and much more "everyone is a villain except for Tau-Indi, who has never done anything wrong in their entire life. peace and love". The characters sometimes will excuse their actions, and Baru is no exception, but the narrative itself never does.
That being said, I'm rooting for Tau-Indi.
No spoilers. I'm so excited to see where the third books picks up.
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Genocide, and Lesbophobia
rosieryel's review
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Torture, Body horror, and Cancer