Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

90 reviews

coffeepotoo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

this book gripped me from the prologue alone. wonderful prose, worldbuilding and the plot is beautifully crafted as well. i really liked most of the characters in this book; they all felt quite unique and real. one of the best fantasy books i've ever read, and i can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Murder, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Pedophilia

stierwood's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

4.0

Some things: 

I didn’tunderstand the use of the 2nd person until about 2/3rds thru the book, and then thought it was rlly clever. 

Characters were complex and loveable. 

I have a history degree. That this book focuses on history, how it is told, and who writes it was so good to read and exceptionally well-done. The lore was sooo fleshed out.

A hard one to read in a slump. The world building was complex so thank gd for the appendix. 

Dark, but never unnecessarily so. 

Except every modern dystopian piece of media i have consumed recently has had cannibalism in it and my tummy hurts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Slavery, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Body horror, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Gore, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, War, Classism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Sexual harassment

ejspiese's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Amazing, just a truly amazing read. The language and writing is impeccable and the way the story and characters weave together is gripping and breath-taking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Genocide

heckgoshdang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Genocide

Moderate: Colonisation, Cannibalism, Gore, Sexual content, Transphobia, Medical content, Racial slurs, Classism, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Racism, Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

galacticvampire's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

5.0

"Stupid, stupid woman. Death was always here. Death is you."

I was enamoured by the concept of The Fifth Season from the first time I heard about it years ago, added to overall praise for the series, I was coming with high expectations.

And it delivered. Everything and more.

The execution not only lives up to the concept, but surpasses it. The suspense isn't there to pull the rug from under your feet in a gotcha moment, it's carefully crafted into the story, where the reveals are satisfying and spark the need for more, even when you caught what the foreshadowing was trying to tell you.

The world is so rich and complex that the initial struggle to follow what was going on (including the recurrent second person pov) has an immense pay-off. The feeling of wonder didn't leave me for a second.

I'm very much on the transition from YA to Adult Fantasy, so the very real darkness and grittiness surrounding everything was unexpected, but I couldn't have picked a better book to make me fall in love with the genre.

This is a story about Pain. This is a story about Grief. This is a story about enduring them and surviving them, because you have no other option.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Sexual content, Rape, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Racism, and Xenophobia

alexijai98's review

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Hate crime, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual violence and Pedophilia

abmochapman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

incredible world-building and characterization

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Child abuse

Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Misogyny, Bullying, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cannibalism and Slavery

bersblue's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I forgive Jemisin for the sex scenes (personally I don't like them, but here they are well written), but I will never forgive this ending. I'm in tears. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cannibalism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, War, Pregnancy, and Torture

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Child death, Racism, Rape, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Bullying, Police brutality, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Body horror

Minor: Cannibalism, Alcohol, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

vivavia's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Slavery, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Vomit, Violence, and Classism