Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

29 reviews

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 of

ignoring 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. 

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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

_krysta's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

Welcome to Tiran, the bright haven that stands against the harsh outside world. A thriving metropolis that runs on magic that powers an advanced industrial economy and innovative technology. Sciona is a mage, who has worked her way up through the ranks to become Tiran’s first female highmage, one of the elite overseers of the city that maps and siphons the power used to keep it running. She is proud to be a mage, a follower of her faith, and highly independent. Orphaned since age four and raised by her aunt with her cousin, she’s a force to be reckoned with and takes no shit. Her sponsor believes in her, she believes in herself to be the best, and she will prove it. She and the other new inductees are tasked with creating a spell to siphon enough power to expand the barrier that keeps Tiran protected from the outside, a harsh environment being ravaged by blight, a mysterious occurrence that pulls the lifeforce out the living and decimates the land and its savage people, known as the Kwen. Not taken seriously, she’s assigned an unqualified Kwen janitor as her assistant. Thomil crossed the barrier into Tiran with his niece after his tribe was overtaken by blight, with nothing left to lose and a last hope to survive on the inside. Unfortunately, that comes at the cost of living in Tiran’s slums, taking the low, often dangerous jobs no Tiran resident will, and being treated as not only a lower-class citizen, but despised and mistreated by the Tiranish. As much as Thomil tries to keep to the background, he is assigned to be Sciona’s assistant.

Sciona is often too caught up in her work and self to notice how hard a Kwen’s life in Tiran can be. After all, shouldn’t the Kwen be grateful to be offered sanctuary in their majestic Tiran? Determined to prove herself in a man’s world, Sciona works tirelessly to create a spell to expand the glory that is Tiran. She is pleasantly surprised to find out Thomil is quite smart and helpful in her research. As they delve deeper into the hunt for magic sources and spells to harness the power, they are challenged by their peers who wish them to fail, and secrets are uncovered that will test their morals, their grit and sense of self.

Two unwelcome people find themselves tested at every turn. Taunted, threatened, challenged constantly, the two form a bond and ego-centric and often delusional Sciona finds herself caring for more than just herself for the first time. The character development for both Sciona and Thomil is well-written. They are both rough around the edges, but as we learn more, each evolve in significant ways. I also really enjoyed Carra and what she represented.

The story touches on thoughtfully explored themes of misogyny, prejudice, faith, family, love and sacrifice. What do we do protect those we love? What will we sacrifice, what risks are we willing to take? How do you fight injustice without being the same as those who oppress you?

I thought the dark academia vibes were fantastic. The magic system is unique, with mages using spellographs like typewriters in which a spell is input and then siphons power from mapped sources. The plot was compelling, and I feel like the themes were powerful and even at times rage-inducing. This book packs a punch in a standalone adult fantasy. It was thought-provoking and paced well. The ending brought this book so full circle in the best way, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Spoiler warnings for gore and violence, sexual harassment, suicidal ideation, colonialism, genocide. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Police brutality, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

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

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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

christine_s's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Started a bit slow but it ramped up quick! Interesting world-building and magic.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Cultural appropriation

odunayo_y's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

luciguara's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

 

TERRIBLE LIBRO
Increible, hace mucho no leo algo tan bueno. Droga desde el capitulo uno. Leia con mi cara a 5 cm del kindle de lo inmersa que estaba.
Posta que abarco de todo y no es la fantasia mas larga que he leido, pero es muy compleja y cada palabra, cada oracion fue aprovechada para desarrollarla.
Misoginia, racismo, colonialismo, xenofobia, politica, magia, historia, moral, religion. En este caso NO aplica el dicho "el que mucho abarca, poco aprieta". La historia cierra por todos lados. Estas tan concentrado en x parte de la trama que te olvidas de lo que no esta resuelto hasta que la misma narrativa te lo recuerda para poder darle un cierre.
La verdad que el gran descubrimiento de la protagonista me tomo desprevenida por lo que dije en la oracion anterior, estaba tan concentrada en el presente de la historia que no hile las ideas, y para mi eso habla de lo bien escrito que esta.
Realmente se lo recomiendo A TODOS.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

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.

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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

lglais's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Pesado, emocionante e levou o fuck white people bem a sério (é sobre). Se você gostou de Babel você vai gostar desse também.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Classism

opalmars's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Infertility, Cannibalism, and Death of parent