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danasaur'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: Death, Murder, Alcohol, Medical content, Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Stalking, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Murder, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Violence, War, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, War, and Suicidal thoughts
micaelamariem's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I do think the writing could have been more concise, there was no reason this had to be 700 pages. But the academia, conflict, magic, and desires were definitely compelling. The reveal at the end that I proudly predicted will be the main thing that keeps me going through the series. I would say this is an okay read, and perhaps good for fans of thick “hard fantasy” novels with lots of descriptions.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Classism, Alcohol, Violence, Blood, and Death
vaevin'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: Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, and Classism
Minor: Mental illness, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Death
leonormsousa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Will I read the sequel: likely but not a priority since the third book hasn't come out yet.
Moderate: Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Body horror, Death of parent, Murder, Addiction, Death, Blood, Bullying, Sexism, Violence, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Gore
nortsapa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
i don’t like school settings and i wasn’t really prepared for us to spend 75% of this book in a school, or to encounter quite so much patriarchy. another review says the protagonist is a mary sue and i very much agree.
there’s lots of different fictional races, which i presume is why people say this cast is diverse, but it’s more like there’s russians & jews, the french & italians, the british, and romani people. as a jew, i always feel off-put by kinds of oppression/microaggressions faced by some groups in here, and by the fact that there’s a ‘money race’ for lack of a better term.
at many points the book was a chore to get through, and i was disappointed by the lack of a clean ending. also, lots of grammar/spelling/math errors in my edition?
overall i won’t be recommending it to anyone myself, but it’s a genre staple and fun to talk about with friends. definitely check the content warnings area before embarking.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Classism, Abandonment, Death, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Medical trauma, Grief, Child abuse, Animal death, Ableism, Gore, Sexism, Vomit, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Body horror, Blood, and Addiction
Minor: Vomit, Violence, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gore, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Medical content, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, War, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Classism, and Body horror
graphic depictions of whipping a child, pickup artistry, anti-sex work, timeskipsnerdkitten'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
Graphic: Child abuse, Medical content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Animal death, Classism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Ableism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Vomit, Alcoholism, Body horror, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Cursing, Trafficking, Gore, and War
maregred'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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Bullying, Classism, Misogyny, and Blood
Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Police brutality
dreklogar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
Random people tell stories about him, Bast adores him despite constantly acting like an abuse victim (the fear of Kvothe, being so incredibly keyed into his every slight mood shift, going as far as to constantly "teach" Chronicler how he should act), he does actually learn Chronicler's super complex short-hand very quickly. All of this is outside of the framing device and tells us that no, Kvothe isn't just full of himself.
Add to that the casual sexism of the story, how it took over half the book for a female character to show up, only for her to be put on a pedestal (Fela did show up at some point, but really, what's Fela like except "beautiful" and "into Kvothe"). Add the incredibly disgusting scene where one teacher just sexually harrasses a female student and it's all just taken in stride. Comments on how all women hate Denna, because she's so beautiful, or how Denna is compared to a natural disaster as an excuse for her hurting people. Who needs agency, right?
Also, oh, the way the poverty was handled. The way Kvothe
This would all be more forgivable if not for the fact that the narrative keeps acting as if it's brilliant and has something to say about the human condition and experience. I lost count of how many times I read "If you haven't been X, you wouldn't know", and it is so clear that the author has not, in fact, been X, and has no idea either. The book was very insulting, very condescending and very, very unpleasant to read.
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Grief, Bullying, and Classism
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Addiction
missmali's review
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Classism, Gore, Addiction, Blood, Violence, Bullying, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
annapox'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
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Classism, and Sexual assault