Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

5 reviews

monstrouscosmos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Characters: 10/10
Relationships: 10/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 9.5/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 9.5/10
Internal Logic: 10/10
Entertainment: 10/10
Overall: 68/70, 5*

I love epistolary novels, quantum time travel plots, and messy star crossed sapphic romances, so I figured from the get that I'd be really into this. and I was! I especially loved the ways the characters spoke with one another across timelines, and gave context for themselves as individuals, within their respective collective experiences, and within their shared relationship over time(s). the writing about writing was also really fun! there are definitely moments that delve into disturbing themes and events, but for the most part I found the tone stayed hopeful in belief for better circumstances. 

it's definitely something I need to relisten to (I feel like I missed a lot in my first run thru due to the narrative bouncing around quite a lot), but I'm so excited to revisit it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, Torture, Abandonment, Colonisation, Animal death, Child abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and Stalking

Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Cursing

Graphic: spiders

sop17hie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

I don't know how to feel. Some beautiful poetic moments but also nauseating gore. Some parts felt like 1984 with the new speak and uncanny turns of phrase.

The moments of war and gore, and being able to be surgeons to themselves really put me off. Hiding things behind the eyeball??? 🤮🤮🤮

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: War

abookwormspov's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Medical trauma, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder

pipkins973's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit and Medical trauma

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Miscarriage

criticalgayze's review

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.75

This one is really a testament to the power of science fiction. How science fiction can rearrange classic stories and themes and repurpose them into a compact, yet far-reaching epic.

Spoiler:

The teacher in me thrilled at the ways this text could be taught as companion to or replacement for a tired rehashing of Romeo & Juliet.

I don't have much to say because I devoured this as a palette cleanser after a poor grad school reading experience, but I would love to revisit this one in the context of teaching or study. My one qualm was that I wish there was a little more emotional weight to add heft to the ending.

Quotes:
Some days Blue wonder why anyone ever bothered making numbers so small; other days she supposes even infinity needs to start somewhere. (p. 39)
Sometimes it seems strands bud Atlantises just to thwart her. (p. 47)
I can hide in words so long as I scatter them through my body; to read your letters is to gather flowers from within myself, pluck a blossom here, a fern there, arrange and rearrange then in ways to suit a sunny room. (p. 90)
Funny how we always think of knights as fighting dragons, when in fact they work for them. (p. 97)
Brava, my pomegranate. Well done. Nine out of ten.
(I reserve a point, always, to encourage reach exceeding grasp.) (p. 171)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Medical trauma

Minor: War