Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

13 reviews

micheala's review against another edition

4.5

I really enjoyed Priory, and I enjoyed this one even more. 

This one takes place 500 years before Priory, however I would still recommend reading it after Priory. There are a couple of world building things that get revealed as Priory progresses that are introduced much sooner in ADoFN that I think would take away some enjoyment from Priory. 

ADoFN has more POVs, but they are better balanced then in Priory. I actually found myself interested in all of them, despite seeing certain character reveals coming from a long way off.

 I also think the character work in general was more effective this time. I loved the breadth of relationships we see, with Tunuva and Esbar's being my personal favourite. 

One of my critics about Priory was how abrupt the final battle felt, and this one doesn't have that issue at all. As well, I just think the pacing and how all the POVs interconnect is better done. 

In general, I think that ADoFN is just slightly better written. It's not perfect, but I am interested in seeing any other snapshots in time in this world that the author chooses to write. 

If you have the chance, the audiobook has a wonderful interview with the author at the end that is well worth the listen. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Grief, and Violence

Minor: Cannibalism

alexalily's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Confinement, War, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Terminal illness, Animal death, Child death, Body horror, Classism, Medical content, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, Vomit, Suicide, Cannibalism, Infidelity, and Kidnapping

bashsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

This book is soooo long and the space & energy for writing a review is so short, yet I shall forge on. A Day of Fallen Night is just as incredible as The Priory of the Orange Tree - if not moreso. Although I read Priory over a year ago now, slipping into this prequel was much easier than getting into the first book. The worldbuilding and the lore came back to me quickly, prodded along by the fact that this is meant to be readable as a standalone. Sometimes that quality can be repetative when you read multiple books in the same universe, but here it was just a boon. 

A short list of things I liked about this book: 

• Always amuses me that Shannon not only made Fantasy Catholicism but also made it canonically false.
• Addition of nonbinary rep - including nonbinary titles! I love the terms Mastress and Lade. 
• Addition of other trans rep - there are at least two trans men & just like the gay relationships, no one bats an eye at them. 
• Thrit, I am emotionally invested in this secondary character, he is the best.
• Gay-on-gay-on-gay violence at one of the climaxes
  where all the narrators run into each other.

No complaints, 100% recommend, I can't wait for the next book in this universe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Blood, Religious bigotry, Violence, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Body horror, Infidelity, and Xenophobia

Minor: Suicide, Cannibalism, and Mental illness