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katharina90's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
I didn't care for the audiobook narration either.
Not going to pick up the sequel.
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Classism, Kidnapping, Slavery, and Confinement
Minor: Ableism, Cannibalism, and Colonisation
bookfulthoughts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
“I am the spark that will set the worlds afire. I am the hammer that cracks the chains.”
I really liked this one! The story was extremely well written and interesting. The world building was excellent and extremely detailed. I was able to visualize exactly what was happening and what everyone looked like! I like that the plot was never lost in the storytelling and this book sets up for the rest of the books in the series perfectly. I do believe that I can see this book becoming a classic in the near future. I loved the concept of the color classism and how that was presented. In my opinion, that was a unique aspect of the story. I also loved that Darrow wasn’t perfect! I he has many flaws but that’s what makes this book good. It gives his character room to grow and develop in complexity.
My reasoning for not giving it 5 stars. Personally, in certain parts of the book it was very reminiscent of the Hunger Games. Having inspiration is fine and I have no problem with that. I’m not sure if it's just me but some scenes felt too familiar. Another thing I took points off for was the fact that I felt like I should have been more emotionally attached to certain characters but I didn’t feel much when things happened. I felt like it was a little cold at times with other characters. Besides these issues, I really liked this book and I do plan on reading the rest of the series in the near future.
Graphic: Sexual violence, War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual assault, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Stalking, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Racism, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Genocide, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Animal death
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Self harm
eliaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Excrement, Sexual assault, Sexism, Genocide, Gaslighting, Cursing, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Gore, Confinement, Rape, Classism, Animal death, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Blood, War, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Grief, Murder, and Misogyny
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
lillelow's review against another edition
The book begins the worst possible way with drunk father figures and community leaders laughing about raping the protagonist’s wife - and no one raises an eyebrow. Misogyny, machoism, masochism, prostitution as a means of female survival and male pleasure, a world in which all women are beautiful, marry when they’re 14 and work with silk while all the manly men work in the mines… This is a sci-fi novel, a world of make believe. You can write about ANYTHING. Create ANY future. Yet this is what we get. I’m SO F* TIRED of reading about this bullshit.
I wanted to put the book down then and there, but decided to give it a go because of all the good reviews.
I shouldn’t have bothered. It doesn’t get better.
The premiss is interesting, but the execution and the character portrayal is horrible.
I didn’t like the protagonist at all. Clever, brave, strong, humble, hardworking, loving… All the right things! At least, that’s what I’m told. Honestly, all I see is a self absorbed insular teenager with no weakness who excels at everything he does for no reason other than he’s the chosen one. He doesn’t have to be likeable, but believable is quite important, and this book does none of it.
The supposedly romantic interactions between the protagonist and his wife are probably supposed to be charming and sweet but only feel stiff, cliche and childish and evoke no emotions at all. But hey, at least she is incredibly beautiful and we’re told everyone loves her… I guess that was enough for the author.
I didn’t like any of the other characters either. Even the ones who are described in good light are horrible, not to mention the way they express themselves. I’m not prude. Explicit language and swearing is fine. But most of the writing, dialogue, slurs and expletives in this book are just disturbing and annoying. You cannot make me believe people talk like this for real. Is it supposed to be cool?? I couldn’t stand it, I hated almost everyone and the flat writing did nothing to help.
At 40% through, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t care about the story or the characters and was mostly annoyed at it all. Ender’s Game’s the perfect chosen one meets the segregation and killing of The Hunger Games or Gladiator (only it’s terrible) in a violent color-coded elite school on Mars with some sprinkles… no, make that a heavy rain…. of machoism and sexism.
No thank you.
★★-
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Classism, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Body shaming, Alcohol, War, Trafficking, Slavery, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Death of parent, Sexism, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Cursing, Racial slurs, Body horror, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Rape, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Excrement, Gore, Death, and Eating disorder
beth_taggard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Then there is our too-perfect, enhanced main character. Yawn. Beyond the physical changes he endures to appear gold, not red (societal class is denoted by color in this world), the insinuation is that his intellect, instincts, and athletic prowess have always been this perfect. I prefer more nuance and, frankly, flaws in my main characters.
The pacing is also off. It's a super slow slog in the beginning, though the back half did pick up the pace a little. Was this enough to save the series for me? Will I continue? At the time of this review, I Just don't know.
Graphic: Child death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Violence, Confinement, Mental illness, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Classism, Bullying, Death, War, and Suicide
nymreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Violence, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Animal death
blingokitty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Blood, War, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: Confinement, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, and Rape
aelytacchan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, but I found a lot of it foul. I think that might be on purpose, but a lot of the violence seemed unnecessary and out of bounds even for the world's laws and customs.
Women were constantly used as symbols, to further plot points, or as convenient caretakers. Despite there being women peppered into the story, they were mostly inconsequential or, when they were of consequence, they just naturally decided they would rather follow Darrow.
I'll take some time to reflect on whether I want to invest more time into the following books, seeing as they're somewhat on the longer side, but as of now, I don't particularly feel like jumping into the next part of the story.
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Classism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death of parent, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Sexism
sadie_honey'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Classism, Suicide attempt, War, Confinement, Sexual assault, Grief, Blood, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Slavery, Torture, Rape, Cursing, Death, Excrement, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, and Cannibalism
marla_arguelles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Confinement, War, Self harm, Torture, Toxic friendship, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Sexual content