Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang

189 reviews

chiaralzr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

melancholymegs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry

hwesta's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Sexism, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and War

jennalwiegand's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

This book grabbed my heart and stomped it on the ground.  Because I had a hard time getting into the book initially, it was slow going, and I wasn't sure how I was initially going to feel. But I was really intrigued by the character and really wanted to see everything through. This book has a massive build-up, and then shit hits the fan pretty dang quickly in the last hundred or so pages.

From the moment Robin kills his dad, to the end I went from having my white privilege called out, and the story of a group of found family kiddos, to rebellion, murder, suicide, explosions etc. The ending felt very much like Rogue One, where basically everyone dies at the end, and I was truly not expecting it.

. The writing is beautiful, I honestly was pulled into the world when I was reading it, and even felt myself googling things in the book to see if they were real places. This truly read like a biography of a magic group, versus historical fiction with a dash of magic, and I really appreciated all of the aspects it gave in that regard. I honestly just wish it was faster-paced, and I would have liked it a lot more! This book did an amazing job of making me think, and actually forcing me to take my time to digest everything on the page. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

D:

‘if theyre going to tell stories about you, use it to your advantage.’

First half was a bit slow but then it really ramped up

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Slavery

lexihworth's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Blood, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

bloomed's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

katrinarose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

An ingenious blend of historical fiction intersecting with fantasy. The fantasy elements are so interesting and logical and serve to greatly enhance the historical setting. I thought it was so well done and so smart. The author’s intelligence really comes through in this book in a way that is rare in the majority of books, even by smart people. I also learned a lot of historical nuance that I only had a general idea about. The major theme of the book is a cruelty of colonialism and I think she drove the point home in an extremely effective way. The characters were well done too, I only wish Victoire had more of a role throughout the book because I really liked her. My biggest criticism that kept my rating from 5 stars for me personally is I felt like it dragged on in some parts in the first half. It’s a long book and covers a lot of history without seeming like nonfiction but I found myself putting it down for several days at a time. I did fly through the last 40% though. Overall would recommend for anyone with an interest in history and/or etymology (being a fantasy reader is definitely not a requirement for enjoyment but it was a big plus for me).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

hamstringy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

I think the reason this book made me cry so hard I sobbed through the entire plane descent into Seattle is because it is so easy to see it’s a tragedy from the beginning. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

wornpagesandendlesscoffey's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.75

I’ll need to sit with this book hangover for a bit. Kuang is a phenomenal story teller who brought this world to vibrant, beautiful life and I loved every second of it. Even the ones I hated. The universal truths in this novel are heartbreaking and stripped bare for the reader, which is dramatic and necessary to the story. This should be required reading for advanced students in my humble opinion. Fiction can be such a wonderful receptacle for truth. 


Note- there are a LOT of triggers. It is still well worth reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism