Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

27 reviews

atalea's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Confinement, Sexual assault, Blood, Rape, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Excrement, Pregnancy, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Vomit

i_aletheia's review

very strong misogyny

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

moth_mcgangis's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

Going off of the blurb on the back of the book and the first few reviews, I expected this to be a lighthearted pirate romp. Oh how naïve I was.

Ship of Magic is a sadistic sad-fest of a novel, and as much as I adored Hobb's prose, character development, and vivid descriptions, I don't feel like I can justify rating this book any higher because of that. The author starts by showing you an array of likable characters, then spends the rest of the book putting them through hell again and again and again and again and again.

No good deed goes unpunished in this novel. The likeable characters are beaten and forced to submit while the worst, most hateable characters always get their way.  After the first quarter of the book, this pattern is frustrating. Halfway through it is tiresome. And three-quarters of the way I was starved for any sense of justice for the characters I had grown to care for so much, but I never really got it in a justifiably satisfying way. 800 pages is a long time to go without seeing anything good happen to the characters you love, and I just came out of it feeling depressed. 

But as much psychological distress as this book caused me... goddammit, I can't possibly rate it lower because all of the characters are so compelling and my desire to see things work out for them (or for some, to see them held responsible for their actions) is overwhelming. Not to mention it is the first book I've read in recent memory to make me cry (poor Paragon...) I will definitely be reading the other two at some point, but not for a while.

In summary, if you are up for a sad novel with infuriating antagonists and very little hope, you will probably love this book. But if you are expecting something cozy and fun like I was, look elsewhere, or you will get strung along on a ride of beautifully written, but seemingly endless misery.

EDIT:

I HAVE DISCOVERD THAT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO READ THIS BEFORE READING THE FARSEER TRILOGY. DON'T DO WHAT I DID! READ FARSEER FIRST!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Child abuse, and Slavery

readwithbells's review against another edition

4.0

I give this a tentative four stars. I love (and hate) the characters of this book, I am incredibly invested in their lives and relationships. Hobb transitions well into the third person POV and the world she creates is expansive and devastating and real. I don’t think I have ever viciously hated a character as much as I hate Kyle. The depiction of domestic violence is difficult but well done, as is the depiction of how women slowly lose their power in an oppressive place. It reads like a punch in the gut, hard to escape into so be aware of that going into it, but it’s a good story. 

That being said. A primary focus of this book is slavery, specifically the slave trade on ships. While I do think Hobb did her research and had good intentions, I also take issue with a white woman writing so extensively on slavery. It’s just a little icky?? And very hard for me to put into words. I think this book would have been just as good, if not better, without slavery as a plot device. I think it’s done tastefully, truly. But it gives me the ick and that’s a real bummer because I want to love these books and I am weirdly conflicted in my feelings for them. These are older books and I can acknowledge that Hobb was likely bringing attention to something not a lot of other authors were talking about, but at the same time it gives me an uncomfortable feeling. So. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Slavery, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, and Vomit

lunafrmoon's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Child death, Death, Torture, Slavery, and Misogyny

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Excrement and Suicidal thoughts

philineselavy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Grief, Misogyny, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Torture, Abortion, Suicide, and Child death

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, War, Excrement, and Fatphobia

Needles (tattooing). Illness, unsanitary. Hunting and skinning. Slut shaming, discrimination against sex workers (frequent use of "whore"). Sexual/romantic relationships between pre-teen/teenage girls and adult men, with some victim blaming attitudes toward this. Forced abortion, stillbirth.

kaziaroo's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Gore, Slavery, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Excrement, Confinement, Vomit, Sexual content, and Rape

Multiple graphic limb amputations

natalie_davies's review against another edition

4.75

What with the web of names, places and plotlines to keep up with - not to mention the glacial pace - it took me a while to get into this. But I was rewarded with some of the best character work I've ever read! The "villains" are all really fun to hate, the underdogs (Especially Wintrow and Althea) are absolutely put upon, and even characters I found annoying (I'm looking at you Malta) got more interesting towards the end. 

I'm really looking forward to picking up the next in the trilogy now, even though this one took me nearly a month to get through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Violence, Drug use, Rape, Animal death, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual content, Misogyny, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Torture and Miscarriage

bluejay21's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Slavery

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Drug use