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vedpears's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Abundant run on sentences took some getting used to, but I managed to navigate that just fine.
I enjoyed how the story was written in such a way that it was like viewing a large photo by zooming in, then zooming out a bit, zooming in somewhere nearby, zooming out again until the whole picture is revealed.
What I did not enjoy was the overwhelming number of elements that would warrant trigger warnings: sex, rape, child abuse, pedophilia, slavery, bodily harm, mutilation, murder, combinations of all of those at once with a gratuitous serving of explicit language.
The overarching story is intriguing. The characters and concepts borrowed from African history and mythology were woven in very well. If this were written to be less corrosive on the psyche, I would have rated it higher.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
It basically has all the trigger warnings, including infanticide.econsidine's review
- 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
4.25
NOTE THAT THERE IS A LOT OF HEAVY/DARK MATERIAL AND IMAGERY. I've tagged everything I can possibly think of below but have likely missed something. If you do not want to read something that involves any of the usual suspects of what people consider "dark" or "gory" or "messed up," then this is not for you. It's not a horror book, but it is often disturbing. And even for me—someone who loves fictional horror and grotesque shit and frequently reads books about cannibalism for fun—this one is a lot to get through and had me physically flinching at some moments while reading. It didn't read like it was just for shock value, as weird as that may sound, but the tone of the narrator through the whole book is very matter-of-fact, so many disturbing events are described in full detail but without much direct inflection/editorializing.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
marmybarmy'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest
scribblesandsuch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Suicide
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
2.0
It's also pretty graphic so def look up content warnings. I won't be picking up the next one in this series even though the cover once again is stunning. I'll check something else out from this author to see if maybe it's just this book and not the author that I'm not enjoying because I've heard good things about some of his other work while this book seems pretty divisive.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, and Colonisation
Minor: Misogyny and Excrement
softanimal's review
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War
Nearly all of this book is graphic violence, rape, and child abuse.jialianyang'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: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War
justinlife's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
It’s an epic, it’s mythology (and all the fuckery that entails), it’s fantasy, it’s a mystery novel, and it combines these genres nicely.
I see comparisons to Game of Thrones, but I didn’t read those nor watch many of the episodes. Maybe the cruelness and the casualness of abuse and violence is similar. It was a bit rough to get through but overall it’s a really good book with a complicated story and complex characters. And also YAY BLACK QUEER STORIES!
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, and Cannibalism
okokapi'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, and Abandonment
bodiesinbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War