Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce

6 reviews

jax10124's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

This one is harder to get into than the rest of her books, but the plot was very different and I really liked the evolution of this book from the beginning to the end. It was what I was expecting and yet was completely different. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

libcolleen's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

moondom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Animal death and Slavery

pet cats are killed off-page but the grief of them is an ongoing reference

quasinaut's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-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? No

4.0

Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy find themselves in a fraught political situation that turns into a devastating war. I loved spending time with these characters and getting their individual perspectives. Plus, we were introduced to some delightful supporting characters (Parahan, Luvo, and Jimut, to name a few).

There were definitely elements that didn't get fully fleshed out, or that I thought would play a bigger part than they did, or that resolved too quickly. It felt like maybe Tamora Pierce struggled with figuring out whether she was writing for kids, teens, or adults -- or perhaps there just needed to be tighter editing for consistency. 

All in all, some of my favorite character interactions and world building, with some issues around pacing and tone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Medical content, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

babudarabu's review

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, Torture, and Blood

Minor: Child death and Chronic illness

akhcreates's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I loved Tamora Pierce's books as a teenager and returning to them - or reading them for the first time, in this case - has been such a balm during these times. I appreciate the depth of character amidst the deft world-building. Pierce's characters are complex, and there's clear development from book to book. It looks like there probably won't be a fourth book in the Circle Reforged series, but I really wish there would be! I need more of these characters.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Slavery