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taffy's review
4.0
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Violence
booksthatburn'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
4.5
Galen and Piper are both new narrators, though Galen is consistent with his previous appearances as a secondary character. The main story would make sense for someone who started here without reading the rest of the series or any other White Rat books, but the epilogue in particular will make much more sense for someone who has read the first two books. There's a pretty cool character detail to delight anyone who read THE WONDER ENGINE, and the return of a couple of characters who first appeared in SWORDHEART, but these connections aren't necessary for understanding most of the book. It is the strongest entry in the ongoing thread of greater understanding between gnoles and humans, or at least between some specific gnoles and a few humans. Until now it seems like gnoles have been doing most of the understanding, so it's nice to see things start to shift.
The worldbuilding focuses on gnole/human interactions and the details of the place where they find themselves. It's a character-focused story, but the setting is specific and growing more detailed with each new entry in the White Rat books.
Galen is a brooding paladin, but a very different flavor of one from either Stephen or Istvhan. He has nightmares which can trigger the battle-tide if he's touched in his sleep. The warning that Galen should not be touched in his slumber has been consistent in the series so far, and now we get his side of that burden. Piper works with the dead, a profession which most people find distasteful. The pace of their relationship has an entirely different flavor from the first two books. It takes place over a fairly short period of time, with the main action confined to a day or two. The restricted but fascinating setting acts as a crucible where Galen, Piper, and Earstripe spend a lot of time together under very stressful circumstances. They don't have quite as much trouble figuring out whether that the other person is interested (at least not for long), but are trying to figure out whether this is a fling or if it can be something more long-term once they're not in mortal danger.
I enjoyed the different pace of this one and am excited for more entries in the series.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Gore, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Murder, Child death, and Alcohol
Minor: Slavery, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Pregnancy
espiargrant's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
But in my opinion, the biggest disappointment of this book was the romance, of which I will enter even more spoilery territory:
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Gore and Sexual content
bethanycrowepowell's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Excrement, Alcohol, and Gore
wickedgrumpy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Cute lich doctor ✅
Unexplained murders ✅
Pining ✅
Since the smooth men were no longer an issue, this book felt like it was lacking some of the depth from the previous two installments. I did thoroughly enjoy it, especially learning more about gnoles. Also the allusion to the ancients possibly being from our current timeline (the fabric that melted instead of burning i.e. possibly polyester) was really subtle. I'm not sure what that means for the overall history of the ancients and their fallen empire/death traps.
Minor: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Confinement, Sexual content, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
orchidd's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Death, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, and Grief
Minor: Torture, Child death, and Child abuse
buttermellow's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Death, Medical content, Racism, Violence, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Confinement, Police brutality, and Torture
dragynfly'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death and Child death