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mads_reads_books'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
3.0
Graphic: Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Slavery, Police brutality, Physical abuse, War, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Violence, Torture, Child death, Ableism, and Abandonment
Minor: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Genocide, Mental illness, Sexism, War, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, and Toxic friendship
naomi_k's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Blood, Death, Violence, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Child death, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Death of parent
toastyghosty13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The prologue sucked me in, starting with the point of view of an unnamed character and giving us a glimpse of the class hierarchy of this world. Slavery of a race for the nobility is the main driving force of the economy, and this unnamed hero is trying to change that. He goes on to become one of the main characters.
The other main character is a 17 year old girl named Vin, who starts off as a street urchin and thief trying her best to get through life unscathed. She grew up with a bad home life, having a mother who tried to kill her and succeeded in killing her younger sister, and a brother who physically abused her but taught her everything she knows about thievery. Her father was some nobility out of the picture. Vin is smart and capable of taking care of herself, but is stuck indentured to a thieving crew desperately looking for a way out.
Vin and
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, War, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Abandonment, and Violence
nflamel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
It is still fun though.
Graphic: Torture, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Rape, Racism, and Toxic relationship
elfaz's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, and Forced institutionalization
missgarceau'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? No
3.75
Moderate: Torture, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Hate crime, Death, Rape, Physical abuse, Violence, and War
maulikki's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Slavery, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Racism, Genocide, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, War, Bullying, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Cursing, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Torture
mayr3adsab00k'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: Death, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Violence, and War
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Physical abuse
andreia's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
this is one of sanderson's earlier works, published in 2006, which is now a long time ago when we consider how the fantasy genre has evolved in recent years. in the context that this was published in, i'd say this is a pretty great story, with a very satisfying progression of events, interesting enough characters, and it even holds up well as a standalone book. in short, it's understandable why it's one of sanderson's most beloved works. the complexity of the world-building is fascinating and i know there's still so much more to discover about this world in the next books.
although i haven't read anything else by him, i'm sure sanderson has improved a lot as a writer since publishing this, as he's claimed himself. so for now i guess i can excuse the things i didn't love about this. i also know that most people seem to prefer his more recent books, so i'm excited to keep reading!
things i didn't love so much (with some mild spoilers):
- vin's character was infuriating at times and the worst part was how painfully clear it was that some of her actions / thoughts were just poor writing choices and not actually a reflection of her character. how is it believable that someone who suffered so much all her life, is constantly battling her instinct to not trust anyone (not even people who clearly want to help her), suddenly goes to a ball, has some meaningless superficial conversations with people who would literally kill her without batting an eye, and decides that the nobility are good and deserve redemption? just because they have pretty dresses and houses? it's just so contradicting to the basis of her character that reading her inner monologues when it comes to the nobility feels like a completely different character.
- in general, the other characters don't really stand out much aside from kelsier and sazed. and this is a big cast of characters. the rest of the crew, although lovable, were honestly very forgettable at times. also, the fact that vin is basically the only significant female character in a cast of 8+ important characters is very, well, 2006-fantasy-written-by-a-man, i guess. not to mention the only other women (2) who occasionally make an appearance, are all antagonists.
- this definitely didn't need to be 600+ pages long. it was a little repetitive at times, with the characters having the same inner monologues time and time again. also, i didn't feel that there was much info-dumping, but there were definitely moments way past half of the book where we were revisiting concepts of this fantasy world for the second, third time, as if to make sure the reader didn't forget it.
- some small cliche moments like
i'm hoping these are all aspects that will be improved in the next books or, at least, in other sanderson series. other than that, i'm very excited to read the next one since i have no clue where it's going!
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Abandonment
thevietvegan's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Slavery, Murder, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence