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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
mk_loisirs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I need to return to this once I gather my thoughts. Phenomenal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
seasidess's review against another edition
dark
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
mjscooke's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
nhollie's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I’m genuinely very tired of this genre of fantasy where the only thing the character ever talks about is that she lives in a sexist society and because she is a victim of sexism it’s supposed to somehow explain away every selfish choice she makes. I also get authors are like “write selfish women,” but to what end? Like truly to what end is this literature where because women live in a sexist society the only options are to be cruel or greedy or to not care about other people. It seems like every fantasy release I’ve read this year has had this same boring, cynical premise. There is nothing challenging about being cynical or writing character who are “not like other girls,” and I’m becoming exceptionally bored with it.
I’m equally tired of this “tough/not like other girls” who are somehow the most naive characters in the entire novel even though the entire foundation of their character is supposed to be “i’m not like other girls because i like to think/scheme/do science” etc., but are just vapid.
Now onto Blood Over Bright Haven…I really didn’t like this book — and it’s definitely informed by my own personal history as a descendant of an enslaved population who was historically and is contemporarily oppressed, dehumanized, and victims to similar state sponsored violence like the Kwen in this novel.
1. I’m floored that there is supposed to be a romance between Sciona (who is complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Thomil’s people) and Thomil. He says he isn’t going to forgive her for her actions, but it okay being romantically interested in her? The person whose entire society and way of life is built on the oppression of the Kwen? The oppressor/oppressed romance is gross — and it’s implausible to me that Thomil likes a woman who even after she realizes what her magic is doing and thinks that it’s okay to use it as long as they don’t target people, but still target the land the people live on. Also, Sciona is still a racist? She doesn’t challenge the fundamental principles of her racist religion or culture? Like she, at no point, understands the fundamental humanity of the Kwen, so again how is this a romance? Please make it make sense!!
2. I’m also just generally appalled that these people are so broken down that no one fights back. That is not how any oppressed group in history has ever responded to oppression. People fight back and organize. Why are the Kwen not doing that? I similarly refuse to believe that every person in Tiran who is aware of what is happening (to spoil the novel entirely: The Blight is caused by Tiran’s magic) only has the recourse of suicide? Again in history, there are traitors to oppressive causes who form coalitions with the oppressed. This does not happen in this novel. It makes no sense.
3. And in this novel and similar ones, authors only identify sexism as a potential problem that a person may face, there is a complete lack of any sort of awareness of multiple forms of marginalization. I know it’s common for even the most marginalized privileged person to distinguish themselves from the true “Other” because of race, gender, class, etc. but it’s so incredibly boring, predictable, tired, that our intelligent main character can’t even for a second empathize or understand Thomil.
4. And to that end, I find is really offensive that because women are denied participation in the higher levels of the magistrate, that they are relieved of any responsibility for the violence of their magic. It’s just fundamentally untrue that women are not active participants in horrific violence (see Stephanie Jones-Rogers They Were Her Property).
5. Also even after finding out about the fundamental violence of Tiranish magic, nothing about Sciona changes. She is still selfish and egotistical — and it’s actually unclear why she even cares about the magic hurting people because those fundamental elements of her character remain. She doesn’t listen to Thomil or trust his experience as an oppressed person and leverages her privileged status against him. It’s gross.
2. I’m also just generally appalled that these people are so broken down that no one fights back. That is not how any oppressed group in history has ever responded to oppression. People fight back and organize. Why are the Kwen not doing that? I similarly refuse to believe that every person in Tiran who is aware of what is happening (to spoil the novel entirely: The Blight is caused by Tiran’s magic) only has the recourse of suicide? Again in history, there are traitors to oppressive causes who form coalitions with the oppressed. This does not happen in this novel. It makes no sense.
3. And in this novel and similar ones, authors only identify sexism as a potential problem that a person may face, there is a complete lack of any sort of awareness of multiple forms of marginalization. I know it’s common for even the most marginalized privileged person to distinguish themselves from the true “Other” because of race, gender, class, etc. but it’s so incredibly boring, predictable, tired, that our intelligent main character can’t even for a second empathize or understand Thomil.
4. And to that end, I find is really offensive that because women are denied participation in the higher levels of the magistrate, that they are relieved of any responsibility for the violence of their magic. It’s just fundamentally untrue that women are not active participants in horrific violence (see Stephanie Jones-Rogers They Were Her Property).
5. Also even after finding out about the fundamental violence of Tiranish magic, nothing about Sciona changes. She is still selfish and egotistical — and it’s actually unclear why she even cares about the magic hurting people because those fundamental elements of her character remain. She doesn’t listen to Thomil or trust his experience as an oppressed person and leverages her privileged status against him. It’s gross.
I could say more, but overall this book was just not it. It’s not dark academia. It’s certainly not a romance. It’s just…bad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide and Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit and Suicide attempt
celina246's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
I judge a good book to me personally if it entertains me, teaches me something and/or makes me feel something significant - and this book made me feel ALOT.
I was NOT expecting it to be this dark or the characters to be so flawed, but it was an excellent read. although the themes were a tad on the nose and in your face.
I was NOT expecting it to be this dark or the characters to be so flawed, but it was an excellent read. although the themes were a tad on the nose and in your face.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Bullying and Vomit
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
sarahbooger's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
e_len's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book wrecked me.
It took me a long while to finish it, because I kept picking it up and immediately putting it down, not in the mood for something so heavy, so infuriating, so painful.
M.L. Wang knows like no other how to invoke emotions.
It took me a long while to finish it, because I kept picking it up and immediately putting it down, not in the mood for something so heavy, so infuriating, so painful.
M.L. Wang knows like no other how to invoke emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Rape
sergyar's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit