Reviews tagging 'War'

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

496 reviews

adamsrib's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

i loved this book, honestly. the prose was evocative and very nicely written, which made the book easy to devour. i loved the setting, and the fact that the magical elements were small enough to add mysticism and intrigue whilst not overshadowing the rest of the worldbuilding.

i do admit that this book would likely not be everyone's cup of tea. it does not shy away from descriptions of war and violence and political subterfuge. the main characters, with the exception of one, are all morally grey: nobody is the "perfect hero" on either side of the war. the end of the novel is good but bittersweet and, in my opinion, suited the novel wonderfully.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Colonisation, Child death, and Sexual content

Minor: Misogyny

fatfrog's review against another edition

Too violent 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

vrybs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, and War

galexy_brain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective tense 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? Yes

4.5

Such a beautifully written epic about fate, desire, identity, ambition, and duty. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Gore, Sexism, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit, Animal death, Dysphoria, Body shaming, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Ableism, Colonisation, Bullying, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Grief

hue's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, War, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Sexual content, Murder, and Racism

lizzisok's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

I was not expecting that ending

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Sexual content

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gore

eelitorr's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

Perfectly good tale of fate, desire, and our true selves. There were points when it was difficult to follow the plot and keep character straight. Third act lull was harsh. The ending didn't really land imo, but glad to have read a different kind of story. I have the sequel but I'm not sure if I'll pick it up 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and War

waqupi's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Child abuse

Moderate: Misogyny and Death

Minor: Grief and Death of parent

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

This was amazing. I wasn't expecting it to be as character driven as it is, just the cover made me think that there would be big battle scene descriptions but if they aren't relevant to the characters it's summed up in a few sentences. I loved that about this book, because what the author is interested in is this story of a person who came from nothing becoming the most powerful person in the world and what that person sacrificed to get there, mostly morals. Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? I guess I'll find out in the sequel. The gender component added to the story is excellent, tackling how it makes a person perceive themselves and how others see them through a variety of characters. Big themes yet the characters are ones I'm tuning in for. Ouyang had to grow on me, his last scene was sooooo good though

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Violence, Torture, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Grief, Child death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Blood, and Outing

eener's review against another edition

slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Death, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Ableism, and War

Minor: Cannibalism