Reviews with content warning for Genocide - Raybearer

Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

23 reviews

book_buddy_rob's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

If you enjoy young adult fantasy, you might feel like this doesn’t sound super original. But I think as you read you will find the twists that Ifueko puts on these common tropes to be really well done.

The whole time I was reading, I kept getting Black Panther vibes in the best way possible.

This features a lot of tropes I enjoy: magical trials, political intrigue, unique magic systems, and found family.

The author does a good job of immediately pulling you into this world and this story and I found the story as a whole to be really fun and entertaining.

Compared to other similar books that are inspired by African mythology, something this did different was incorporate multiple African cultures into the story and it completely enriches the setting of this novel.

The writing itself did feel a bit juvenile at times, but I didn’t particularly mind that because when we first meet our main character she’s 11 years old, so it made sense to the novel. Also I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this being geared more towards a younger YA audience

One minor criticism I have is that I wish the trials described in the synopsis were developed more. We only really get to experience these trials and competition within the first third of the novel, and I just wanted more of the trials.

There are also some moments in the middle of the book that describe the mundane details of palace life in this world and I didn’t find those scenes entirely interesting.

Overall though, I think this is a highly imaginative young adult fantasy novel full of great characters, magic and a sprinkling of political intrigue that would recommend to fantasy readers.

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readandfindout's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

5.0

Style/writing: 5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 5 stars
Worldbuilding: 4.5 stars

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akvolcano's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

3.5

Tarisai's journey makes a lot more sense once you learn about her mother's backstory. However, her mom grew up with the wrong mentality and affected everyone around her, including her daughter. She is very manipulative and uses things against others in order to help herself in the long run. I appreciated the conversation Tarisai and her mother had at the end, it showed that her mother was regretful of the things she did and actually sympathetic towards her mistakes. I'm excited to see Tarisai as a Redemptor persuading the eleven vassal leaders to not only join her council, but to love her as well. I loved seeing the asexual representation with Ekundayo! I'd love to see more of that representation in more books! Although, I did find it extremely weird and unnecessary to have Woo In, who is about 5-9 years older than Kirah, to have a romantic relationship. Overall, this was a great fantasy and I'm excited to start the second book!

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