Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells

4 reviews

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

This was a very atmospheric read! Very effortlessly gave the feeling of a dark fantasy-late 1800s city. Loved the carriages and the gas lamps and the cold. I really liked the mystery and the unsettling horror aspects with the ghouls and catacombs and dark magic. 
It loses some points for only having 1.75 relevant female characters and also for being about 200 pages too long. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Vomit, Colonisation, and War

jodar's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

4.25 stars in the fun-but-superficial scale.

The novel is a fun fantasy adventure romp set in an alternative 19th-century-like European-like city. I got a bit of the same vibe as in The Count of Monte Cristo. There are some nice plot complications and misdirections that the reader experiences along with the MCs. The MCs have quite a few near scrapes, too,

though it’s pretty obvious the goodies will pull through in the end.

Be aware there are some dark and gruesome practices of wizardly nastiness described in quite some detail.

The main characters are engaging, with clever dialogue that pushes the plot along and at the same time rounds out personalities nicely. There are both smart and clever men and women; if anything, it’s only some of the men who are bit too clever for their own good.

The pacing did drag for me in places, but it ramps up nicely from about the last third as the action become increasingly intense.

Two odd passages, though: first, the ordering of someone to spread feathers (down) on a floor:

Nicolas stepped back, letting Reynard tell their prisoner to lay down on the dirty floor. (Chapter 13)

and second, out of the blue the MC’s worry about some sort of oviparous entity lurking inside a house:

... [Nicolas] hoped [Madeline] would be able to maintain [her disguised role] once they saw what was sure to lay within. (Chapter 17)

Perhaps the second was a red herring? Or perhaps, while we all know that chickens lay eggs and cows lie down, these passages are intended as fantasy embellishments…!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement and Drug abuse

Minor: Grief

booksthatburn's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious 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

This is like if the crew from Leverage were trying to stop magical murders instead of corporate greed.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Suicide, and Murder

inkfingers's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Excrement, and Medical content

Minor: Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Stalking