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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Medical content, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Body horror, Suicide, Death, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Deadnaming and Vomit
remibaker's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
hexillith'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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
readerette's review against another edition
Moderate: Suicide and Violence
ahab_jr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Violence, and Body horror
storieswithbee's review
2.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
yavin_iv's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide
Minor: Slavery and Deadnaming
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
THE ALL-CONSUMING WORLD is a beautiful mess of broken people here to fuck shit up and probably die trying at least once or twice.
The world-building is marinated in sci-fi vibes and queer longing, generated though hyper-dense jargon alternated with declarations of laser-focused loyalty backed up by gore and plasma. It even takes the time to show a brief glimpse of how ordinary person would conduct life in this space, all without stopping the action. It's fragmented like a glass vase you drop on purpose while making smoldering eye contact with a nemesis you want to fuck. Most beautiful as it shatters but useless afterwards. Turns out the vase is Maya, and Rita is prepared to drop and rebuild her a hundred times to get what she wants.
There are several narrators who each have their own styles, it made them pretty easy to tell apart which was helpful when the story is revealed through the combination of their perspectives and they're apart for most of the book.
I loved Maya's meeting with Reha. It's this moment to breathe and contemplate, something it feels like Maya has never had the time nor space to do. The tone is distinct from the rest in the book in a way that complements the whole by being a different texture from the rest. It's such an important conversation for a character whose only mentor so far is Rita (who on her best days is indifferent and most of the time is actively manipulative). My favorite moment deals with the paradox that exiting a queer "girl power" space can be needed to figure out one's own queerness.
The prose is fantastic, densely syllabic, unafraid to pack in adjectives, to verb nouns and noun verbs. It makes language feel like a game, like the quickest way to the essence of a thought was to make the words scream and twist. This is especially fitting in a story filled with psychological manipulation and loyalty past reason. Anyone who spends their time loyal to Rita ends up needing twisted words just to keep track of their own thoughts. The main characters are complex and generally unlikeable, but fascinating and really great to read. Maya is a beautiful broken wreck of a person, managing to eke out a small piece of personal growth towards the very end when everything totally goes to shit.
Graphic: Grief, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Blood, Gore, Medical content, Violence, Gun violence, Suicide, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Vomit
CW for eye trauma, major character death (graphic).