Scan barcode
eliasaurus's review against another edition
- 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
The other reviews are right that it deserves every trigger warning under the sun, but this is the best high fantasy I've read in a long time. The characters are all so interesting and well fleshed out, the writing (though not always easy) is engaging because it's perfectly in the protagonist's voice, the plot is twisty and turny... It's basically perfect.
All the seemingly disparate story elements end up being relevant. If you get through the first hundred or so pages, you won't be able to put down the rest.
Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Incest, Child death, Slavery, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, War, and Animal death
Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit
Minor: Islamophobia, Racism, and Cannibalism
sujong127's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Incest, Death, Sexual assault, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence
fravenwood's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Sexism, Rape, Sexual assault, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Child abuse, Murder, and Child death
hello_kara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This is not a comfortable or easy read. But content riddled with trauma should not be comfortable. Gratuitous mention of shit, piss, blood, rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, child abandonment and sacrifice, kidnapping, corruption, slavery, torture, dismemberment, and murder. Is the overall story still intriguing though? Yes. Not a book I could ever rate on a simple scale though.
“There was always someone or some two or some three who will grab me like a stick and break me, grab me like wet cloth, and wring everything out of me. And that was just the way of the world. That was the way of everybody’s world.”
Took me forever to get through this one, and I didn’t feel invested until about a third of the way through. That’s also about how long it takes to get to the advertised plot of the book. I was drawn in by the premise of an epic quest of a group of people each with different supernatural gifts, knowledge, or skill, with the goal of finding a missing child of prophecy. The story is told from the point of view of Tracker, The Red Wolf, and is being told to the Inquisitor questioning him regarding this quest. Rooted in African inspired mythologies and folklore, this quest takes them to several different cities, through cursed lands and hidden doorways, and they cross paths with a plethora of terrifying creatures.
This book is the first in a planned trilogy, with each book more companion than sequel, telling the story from different points of view. I think it’s a very interesting concept, especially with unreliable narrators, a plot thick with political intrigue, characters with supernatural gifts and some with unnaturally long life spans. At times the writing was rich and easily immersive, other times disorienting with a stream-of-consciousness-mania. The style was so unlike other books I’ve read.
Audiobook performance was excellent, but with the writing style it was difficult at times to tell when characters switched back and forth during dialogue. I did read along with the ebook for most of this which helped. There are also several maps and character lists at the beginning of the book.
“We don't own truth. Truth is truth and nothing you can do about it even if you hide it, or kill it, or even tell it. It was truth before you open your mouth and say, That there is a true thing.”
Graphic: Abandonment, Cannibalism, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Ableism, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
abnerbee's review
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Rape, Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Sexual violence, Torture, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Violence
It's so violent and so graphic, just know that going in.bookishkarina's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexism, Incest, Death, Gore, Murder, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Child death, and Torture
whatulysses's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Sexual violence
jleohirsch's review
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Animal cruelty
Minor: War and Gore
samanthaleereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Sexism, and Confinement
latabernaderol's review against another edition
Después de 350 páginas y de intentos todas las semanas, no logré engancharme y definitivamente me costaba agarrarlo cada vez que me ponía a leer. El plot me había parecido super interesante, es de fantasía y tiene mapas, nada podía salir mal (?. De hecho, muchos lo comparan con game of thrones y hasta Neil Gaiman -que me encanta lo que hace - dió una review super positiva.
Básicamente trata de un grupo que se une para buscar a un niño que había sido secuestrado (el motivo se conoce muuuuuuuy adelante en el libro). El personaje principal, Rastreador, tiene un olfato superhumano que le permite justamente rastrear cualquier olor que conozca, incluso a miles de kilómetros de distancia.
Como positivo quiero remarcar que tiene cosas de mitología africana super interesantes, hay demonios, dioses, distintas tribus y culturas, monstruos, shapeshifters y demás.
Como negativo, si bien estaba esperando gore y cosas turbias, personalmente me pareció demasiado y me costaba leerlo.
Trigger warning- se vienen comentarios sobre violencia sexual/física/psicológica:
-La narración no es lineal, cosa que generalmente no me molesta, pero las primeras 200 y pico de páginas son de historias random del personaje principal que saltan en el tiempo sin ningún criterio aparente (hasta ese momento al menos) y se hace muyyyy largo. Como decía antes, recién arrancan la quest principal un poquito antes de donde dejé de leerlo.
-Casi en todos los capítulos (que btw son super largos, algunos incluso de 57 páginas por lo que el "un capitulito más y me duermo" no se aplica para esta novela) hay abusos sexuales, pedofilia, bestialidad, violencia física y psicológica. Estos temas son muy constantes, a mi criterio no tan relevantes para la trama y hasta que pasan como si nada... me refiero a que sentí que estaban narrados a veces de una manera muy liviana para lo que estaba describiendo. Esto fue principalmente lo que me hizo dejar el libro...
Ojo, hay reviews super mixtas respecto a este libro, y hasta fue nominado a varios premios y creo que ganó otros. Hay gente que lo ama, gente que lo odia y gente que no lo pudo terminar (como yo). Por ahí en otro momento de mi vida le doy otra oportunidad y quizás en las páginas que me faltaba todo cambiaba y me volaba la cabeza (?
Me gustaría leer otras cosas del autor, porque todo el mundo habla genial de él.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Child abuse