Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

47 reviews

catsy2022's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, and Death of parent

27dragons's review against another edition

adventurous reflective 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

4.0

Amazing worldbuilding inspired by indigenous American cultures (think Olmec, Mayan) which is an unusual approach that took some brain power to keep track of but was absolutely worth it. Fantastic LGBTQ+ representation, including a bisexual main character, a couple of nonbinary characters (xe/xir pronouns used) and one minor transwoman character. Another main character may have been asexual but it was hard to tell if it was lack of sexual attraction or simply dedication to his cause.

One thing I particularly loved: at the end of this first book of the series, I'm still not entirely sure who the "bad guys" actually are* - there are POV characters on all sides of the central conflict and all of them seem to be doing what they feel is right and important, within the scope of their personalities and positions. (*There are some definite individual villains, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate the purpose of their greater cause.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Xenophobia

Minor: Homophobia

ishtar_n's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide, Xenophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Child abuse

trippalli's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

Too much violence and vengeance for me to enjoy the story despite strong characters

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, Excrement, and War

sohva's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Blood, Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, and Racism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Homophobia, War, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Sexual violence

bunny_boy's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Sexual content

drlove2018's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.75

One of the most intense and compelling fantasy/speculative fiction books I’ve ever read, incredible world building and detailed cultural context. The beginning has some body horror, but once you get past that the violence is not as graphic/explicit (except for one scene near the middle), and it never feels gratuitous or sensationalist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Genocide, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicide, and Xenophobia

shanekate's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Murder, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

solenekeleroux's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Xenophobia, Genocide, Violence, Gore, Body horror, Death, Suicide, Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Confinement

nicnevin's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I found the book very interesting but some bits more interesting than others. Xiala and Serapio were my favourites tbh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Violence, and Xenophobia