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chasinggrace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
After Sword of Kaigen, I was expecting a little more if I’m being honest. While not an objectively bad novel (good pacing, multifaceted characters, clear themes), it did not evoke the emotion or the connection that Wang’s previous work did for me.
I think my biggest gripe is that the writing is very literal, the themes & lessons translated in a very heavy-handed way. And while I think that the FMC’s naïveté and density were purposeful and symbolic, that did not make her any less frustrating. Anyone with half an awareness of modern racial/colonialist issues will find the politics of this world extremely transparent, and while skin color was never explicitly mentioned, the FMC was obviously meant to represent a White Woman.
It felt like Wang was trying to make a statement about every single conceivable kind of oppression that’s ever existed, when it would have been more impactful with a slightly tighter focus. Obviously, the White Man™️ is the sole catalyst for all suffering - this point was beaten & emphasized over and over and over again. Let me be clear - I AGREE! But the writing lacked eloquent prose and graceful exploration of this. For example, was the attempted sexual assault scene necessary? It’s obvious that in a patriarchal society, sexual assault will be an intrinsic issue and could have been kept off-page. Secondarily, the conversations between FMC and Thomill/Carra were so blatant - like Wang took conversations of race and White guilt directly off of TikTok and placed them on the page.
ASLO, I am desperately begging authors to stop writing FMC’s whose first instincts are to either cry or vomit. Why do I have to read about you sputtering and spewing chunks??
I guess I was holding out for creative prose and the je ne sais quois that I felt in SoK. Unfortunately, BOBH left me feeling like I had read “The Impacts of White Colonialism 101.”
I think my biggest gripe is that the writing is very literal, the themes & lessons translated in a very heavy-handed way. And while I think that the FMC’s naïveté and density were purposeful and symbolic, that did not make her any less frustrating. Anyone with half an awareness of modern racial/colonialist issues will find the politics of this world extremely transparent, and while skin color was never explicitly mentioned, the FMC was obviously meant to represent a White Woman.
It felt like Wang was trying to make a statement about every single conceivable kind of oppression that’s ever existed, when it would have been more impactful with a slightly tighter focus. Obviously, the White Man™️ is the sole catalyst for all suffering - this point was beaten & emphasized over and over and over again. Let me be clear - I AGREE! But the writing lacked eloquent prose and graceful exploration of this. For example,
ASLO, I am desperately begging authors to stop writing FMC’s whose first instincts are to either cry or vomit. Why do I have to read about you sputtering and spewing chunks??
I guess I was holding out for creative prose and the je ne sais quois that I felt in SoK. Unfortunately, BOBH left me feeling like I had read “The Impacts of White Colonialism 101.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
antonya's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Infertility, Racism, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cryptofauna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
3.75
i'm SO conflicted on one this one!! i really struggled to get into it at the beginning mostly because of how insanely racist siconia was. like i get why! she didn't really know anything different and her whole character arc was being not racist but it was pretty uncomfortable and frustrating to read because she just refused to change earlier on in the story? once i powered through the beginning with all its lore dumps (again. i get it. but there has to be a better way than her just monologuing through her whole magic system to thomil) it was really interesting!!
the worldbuilding is super cool and i do like their magic system a lot. it felt a teensy bit high and mighty at some points regarding both feminism and the racism, but i think it got away with it 90% of the time. i appreciated siconia's character growth and the way they handled mental illness (although she wasn't really manic? unclear if that was a hysteria thing or if the author didn't really get what that word meant). the plot was fast paced and i was really excited to learn more and more as it was revealed, i think i read 70% of this book at school during classes. and the ending was definitely unexpected (jn a good way!)
thomil was amazing and i loved him so much. i think its extremely funny to be like no my native people aren't like real life native people!! they have red hair!!!! so its obviously different lol.
generally i got hooked on it once i got a little further in, but it took a little more than i would have preferred to get going!
the worldbuilding is super cool and i do like their magic system a lot. it felt a teensy bit high and mighty at some points regarding both feminism and the racism, but i think it got away with it 90% of the time. i appreciated siconia's character growth and the way they handled mental illness (although she wasn't really manic? unclear if that was a hysteria thing or if the author didn't really get what that word meant). the plot was fast paced and i was really excited to learn more and more as it was revealed, i think i read 70% of this book at school during classes. and the ending was definitely unexpected (jn a good way!)
thomil was amazing and i loved him so much. i think its extremely funny to be like no my native people aren't like real life native people!! they have red hair!!!! so its obviously different lol.
generally i got hooked on it once i got a little further in, but it took a little more than i would have preferred to get going!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia
jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
4.25
A complex tale this story takes place under a dome made by the founding mages which protects those in the city from the Blight.
The blight kills without shame and destroys anything with life that it touches from trees and plants to unravelling a human infront of your eyes.
We see our main character develop a lot throughout this book, as an academic she questions everything and despite Kwen being frowned upon in their city when she is mocked by her all male peers for being the first female archmage ever she takes the Kwen janitor under her wing as her assistant.
Its narrative addresses issues such as genocide/ seeing certain groups as lesser beings as well as colonisation in the form ofignoring the harms of magic and the destruction they reap on the Kwans native land , despite being a product of stolen texts taken from the original female witches under the Kwan who only aimed to help people.
Overall despite being deep and at sometimes saddening I truly loved this book and could not put it down. It’s unique from its magic system, to how it addresses social issues and I think is a vital addition to diversifying the worlds of sci fi and fantasy.
The blight kills without shame and destroys anything with life that it touches from trees and plants to unravelling a human infront of your eyes.
We see our main character develop a lot throughout this book, as an academic she questions everything and despite Kwen being frowned upon in their city when she is mocked by her all male peers for being the first female archmage ever she takes the Kwen janitor under her wing as her assistant.
Its narrative addresses issues such as genocide/ seeing certain groups as lesser beings as well as colonisation in the form of
Overall despite being deep and at sometimes saddening I truly loved this book and could not put it down. It’s unique from its magic system, to how it addresses social issues and I think is a vital addition to diversifying the worlds of sci fi and fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
alaris's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Gets very dark right from the beginning, but it's appropriate. It explores sexism, classism, racism, with well-written main characters. Especially as a standalone, it's amazing. I'd recommend it to anyone who can handle heavy reads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
iellv's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Ack. I’m devastated. There are so many things to process. But let me just say that this book achieved what Babel couldn’t. It's a thematically dense book, but it was handled expertly when it could easily be bungled by a less skilled writer. ML Wang's craft is precise, and most of the time her writing style is practical and straight to the point, considering we spend most of the time in Sciona's head, but when the time is right (and in every single Thomil chapter), she goes for the neck. The magic system is great, btw. I'll add a spoiler tag to my notes because I can't be bothered to edit the word vomit below.
There are so many things to love about this book, but I have to applaud ML Wang for portraying rebellion with enough nuance and lingering in that discomfort. Blood Over Bright Haven shows you the fallout and the loss of Kwen lives. And forces you to look at the damage. Yes, what Sciona did was necessary, but her actions caused so much destruction. And that is the terrifying truth. It takes great violence to shake the foundations of a nation that was built on violence and continued to thrive through violence. It takes an even greater devastation to destroy those foundations. And even then the aftermath might not yield the desired effect. It might be worse. But you can trust that at the very, very least, the destruction will usher in light and if I think about Thomil and the Caldonnae for too long I might actually lose it.
I do have one question though: did the Kwen not organize? Were there not underground groups or something? If not resistance groups then support groups? I find that hard to believe, but I'll give this the benefit of the doubt because Sciona didn't get to see much during the fallout. And unfortunately, we didn't get a Thomil chapter during that time. I can see why so I'm not docking points for that
Lastly, I wanna say that I do have some notes? Thomil was too much of a background character for my taste. Although, to be honest, I did have low expectations of his involvement (I'm still annoyed about Griffin, aka RF Kuang's mouthpiece, just... dying after he said his piece), but ML Wang edged toward making Thomil the marginalized character who serves to educate main character. I'm glad we got to see his anger and his grief but that also ultimately served to further Sciona's character development.
We absolutely could have had two Thomil chapters before they executed the plan, because who really is he outside of his work? Outside of his relationship with Carra? How does he interact with other Kwen? What's the Kwen community at the Kwen Quarter like? And again, did the Kwen not organize? lmao. A broken person can still have a life... The man is pretty friendly, charming, honest, and kind. I'm sure those qualities would have shone if he had been given the chance to interact with people from other tribes before the last crossing. Can you tell that Thomil is everything to me? Man, even his hunting skills were mentioned to supplement Sciona's work. Tell me more about his relationship to his gods!!! To nature!!!
I also have some notes about the middle and how Sciona reacted to the truth. I wish we could have sat with her emotions a bit more before the suicide attempt because that felt kinda drastic for someone who didn't really care much about the people in her own neighborhood let alone Kwen lives. Better yet, just do away with the suicide attempt, because I think that detracted from the weight and truth of the assessments leveled at her in the final arc.
Actually, I'm not done. I think the sexual assault scene was handled a little bit weirdly. ML Wang could have written in Renthorn's true nature in a more convincing way than sexual assault, just as the misogyny could have had more layers to it. I agree with the critiques about the misogyny being mostly limited to underestimating Sciona's abilities and staring. It was infuriating, yeah, but it was so flat as to be relatively benign that I forgot that 1.) They only let women take the test every 10 years and 2.) Sciona is the first woman highmage, full stop. It's funny that it didn't even break the immersion too much because I genuinely forgot about those two facts for much of the book.
I do have one question though: did the Kwen not organize? Were there not underground groups or something? If not resistance groups then support groups? I find that hard to believe, but I'll give this the benefit of the doubt because Sciona didn't get to see much during the fallout. And unfortunately, we didn't get a Thomil chapter during that time. I can see why so I'm not docking points for that
Lastly, I wanna say that I do have some notes? Thomil was too much of a background character for my taste. Although, to be honest, I did have low expectations of his involvement (I'm still annoyed about Griffin, aka RF Kuang's mouthpiece, just... dying after he said his piece), but ML Wang edged toward making Thomil the marginalized character who serves to educate main character. I'm glad we got to see his anger and his grief but that also ultimately served to further Sciona's character development.
We absolutely could have had two Thomil chapters before they executed the plan, because who really is he outside of his work? Outside of his relationship with Carra? How does he interact with other Kwen? What's the Kwen community at the Kwen Quarter like? And again, did the Kwen not organize? lmao. A broken person can still have a life... The man is pretty friendly, charming, honest, and kind. I'm sure those qualities would have shone if he had been given the chance to interact with people from other tribes before the last crossing. Can you tell that Thomil is everything to me? Man, even his hunting skills were mentioned to supplement Sciona's work. Tell me more about his relationship to his gods!!! To nature!!!
I also have some notes about the middle and how Sciona reacted to the truth. I wish we could have sat with her emotions a bit more before the suicide attempt because that felt kinda drastic for someone who didn't really care much about the people in her own neighborhood let alone Kwen lives. Better yet, just do away with the suicide attempt, because I think that detracted from the weight and truth of the assessments leveled at her in the final arc.
Actually, I'm not done. I think the sexual assault scene was handled a little bit weirdly. ML Wang could have written in Renthorn's true nature in a more convincing way than sexual assault, just as the misogyny could have had more layers to it. I agree with the critiques about the misogyny being mostly limited to underestimating Sciona's abilities and staring. It was infuriating, yeah, but it was so flat as to be relatively benign that I forgot that 1.) They only let women take the test every 10 years and 2.) Sciona is the first woman highmage, full stop. It's funny that it didn't even break the immersion too much because I genuinely forgot about those two facts for much of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Genocide and Vomit
Minor: Cannibalism
soapsoapsoap's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, War, Classism, and Deportation
mmiamuse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
This book grabbed me by the lapels and held on TIGHT! While reading this, I was consumed by it. I could not stop thinking about this at work, while driving...while existing lol. The writing is phenomenal, the character development is flawless. You will be emotionally scarred after reading this. This is a solid dark academia/fantasy stand alone. The MC is a woman in her mid 20's and I LOVED that. It made the character more relatable to me because I am the same age as Sciona (the main character). This is definitely added to the list as one of my favorite books ever...along with The Sword of Kaigen. I think I have a new favorite author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War