Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

246 reviews

effingunicorns's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

I came into this tentative but committed, wanting to catch up on yet another trilogy concluding in the first half of the year because I thought the final book sounded awesome but immediately running up against a story that, clear cultural differences aside, does read like a pretty normal high fantasy. I don't inherently object to the sub-genre, but it's not one I'm used to these days, so I had to adjust. On top of that, one of the protagonists soon proves to be in a real tooth-gnasher of a situation, making decisions time and again that left me begging for just a glimmer of situational awareness, for just one moment of "no, sorry, I don't fucking trust you".

Fortunately, I persevered. Partially, of course, this was because I was still so hopeful about that third book. Partially, though, the more I read, the more it felt like the storyline I was struggling with was one that had to unfold somehow, and the more obvious it became just how limited those somehows were. And then things finally came to a head, that third storyline dripping with irony, and now I'm ready to start the second book this weekend in full sickos.jpg mode.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

avacadosocks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, and Child abuse

miss_vonnegut's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is one of those books that gets pretty dark but is so very good. I really enjoy Roanhorse's writing and her characters are always compelling. I have the second and third books already lined up to read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Violence

ivereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I am beyond words, I recently got back into reading after having over a 8-10 year slump, and I read this over the course of just 6 days. (That is insanely impressive for my slump) The storyline is phenomenal and I am absolutely in love with everything the author did. Rebecca Roanhorse did her mfing research and made the whole world building amazing. I am autistic so I have some biases for loving this stuff because it's a personal special interest. But she did a great job of bringing Indigenous history into a fantastical world full of magic and I beg that the second book is just as good and thoughtful. (Going to read that next) If you don't mind the talk of occasional violence and you love culture rich and diverse casts in a fantastical setting, i one million times over recommend this. Thanking and bowing to my friend who recommended me this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Torture, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Mental illness

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Misogyny, War, Xenophobia, Grief, and Sexual content

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The full-cast audio production of Black Sun is phenomenal and I highly recommend! Each character felt so distinct, making this large cast of characters in rotating POV easy to follow. I loved the pacing of this story, the slow-burn countdown to Convergence blended with character flashbacks. It created a unique tension and building sense of dread. The chapter starts and excerpts from fictional historical accounts were so well done and added depth to the world building. I particularly loved the dynamic between Xiala and Serapio and was so grateful I could immediately jump into book two after that ending! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Ableism, Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Abandonment, Torture, and Grief

Moderate: War and Genocide

emzhay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Loved the world building and characters. Although the plot was sometimes a bit of a slog, everyone had interesting story lines. I liked Okoa a lot and wished he had more of an active role. Xiala and Serapio’s romance was rather flat and felt like they were just smooshed together because they’re both outcasts. Individually they were stellar and had my favorite chapters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexism, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Classism

Minor: War and Rape

read_with_riley's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Violence, Blood, Gore, Alcohol, and Slavery

itsbrianascall's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Body horror, Xenophobia, Murder, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, and Ableism

rnorthie's review against another edition

5.0

Did not know this was a series at first and nearly lost it at the end!

Such good characters, setting, magic system and political system. Couldn’t put it down for the last 200 pages. Really great start to the year of reading. Loved that it was less of a western fantasy too, I think it added such good elements to the story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore and Violence

mr_ryancowboy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Classism, Abandonment, and Religious bigotry