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jalexpulliamkepler'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Torture, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, War, Slavery, Classism, Suicide, and Sexism
Minor: Animal death
kenzielikestoread's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
unhappygilmore'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
Minor: Vomit, Suicide, and Child abuse
jennanaps's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Murder, Death, Body horror, Medical content, War, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
mollieweitzman's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse and Child abuse
Minor: Suicide
kagedbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was so good! I bought the book on day one yet have been putting it off because I was worried it wouldn't live up to The Licanius Trilogy... I shouldn't have worried.
Islington gives us a complex Roman inspired political intrigue story with a fantasy setting. He delivers on his history of strong character development, and provides a world with a history that feels rich and fleshed out.
This is a longer book but I never felt bogged down in it, in fact I just wanted to keep reading chapter after chapter. There was a mix of things you could see coming and surprises along the way to keep you engaged in the story.
I'm truly looking forward to book 2 in this series!
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, and Bullying
potion96's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Confinement, and Grief
zoeelora's review
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Murder, Death, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Slavery
Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, War, Medical content, Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, and Vomit
iono's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Gore, Child death, War, Murder, Colonisation, Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Genocide, Body horror, and Bullying
Minor: Xenophobia, Vomit, Slavery, and Confinement
booksthatburn's review
The character's background is conveyed mostly through his thoughts, and at first I thought it was going to be gradually revealed in bits and pieces. Having made it a quarter of the way through the book before stopping, it doesn't really seem like more is forthcoming (at least not in time for it to feel meaningful).
The Will system is interesting, it's well-described and has some fascinating implications for the world. I appreciate how the exploitative nature of this power is combined with a colonialist empire. It's a synergy between the political and magical in a way that makes sense as to why things are as bad as they are for almost everyone in the system, with the magic and the exploitation feeding into each other in a horrible self-reinforcing loop.
Ultimately the pace was slow enough that it broke any sense of momentum that I had while reading, and I'm just not interested in finishing it.
Graphic: Confinement and Slavery
Moderate: Excrement, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Dementia, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Blood
Minor: Fatphobia, Vomit, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, and Death