Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

26 reviews

solenekeleroux's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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: Sexual content, Racism, Death, Animal death, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Blood, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

kinomatica's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Gaslighting, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Abandonment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Animal death

Minor: Racism, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

rorikae's review

challenging emotional 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

4.75

'Empire of Wild' by Cherie Dimaline is an emotional story surrounding one woman's attempt to save her husband. 
Joan believes her husband is dead when she stumbles into a religious tent in the Walmart parking lot and finds a man that looks remarkably like him preaching. But Viktor doesn't remember her and is now going by the name Eugene Wolff. Joan knows that this man is her husband and will stop at nothing to get him back, including taking on the revival group that seems to have brainwashed him and the stories of more than wolves that are lurking in the woods. 
From the first paragraph of this book, I was hooked. Dimaline has an engaging and evocative writing style that clearly paints the world she has created in stark but emotional prose. From the beginning, Joan and each of the supporting characters flew off the page as if they had been plucked from real life. Add to that an enticing mystery as the reader tries to figure out what happened to Viktor right alongside Joan and this story was near perfection. Dimaline does a great job of breathing folklore and a hint of the speculative into a world that is otherwise down to earth. I have been excited to pick up her work for some time and now I can't wait to read everything that she has written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, and Kidnapping

ofbooksandechos's review

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Car accident and Homophobia

bookdragon217's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Pregnancy

mommarex1221's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A solid re-imagining of Red Riding Hood, is a fun read, especially around Halloween.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence

burnt_amber89's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I quite enjoyed this book. I loved reading about the Rogarou and the depiction of this tale from a Metis perspective. I loved the fact that the author didn't explain exactly what the traditional tale was: it kept some sort of mystery, while making me feel part of the community by assuming I knew.
The social commentary embedded in the story is particularly enlightening. 
That being said, the writing style was sometimes a little slow, and I was thrown off by the points of views switching from one character to the next. 
I am still processing the ending, I applaud its audacity, but maybe it's a little too abrupt ? The jury is still out on this one. 

Overall, I think I would recommend this book, it's an easy read, quite gripping sometimes, albeit a little unequal. Great book to get acquainted with traditional folklore and current social issues in indigenous communities. Some violent and/or frightening passages that may make it unsuitable to all audiences (especially at night...). Be sure to check out the trigger warning list before embarking on the journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Grief, Racism, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Infidelity

caseythereader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

 - EMPIRE OF WILD on one level reads as a wild mystery adventure, but look a little closer and it's actually a tale of the horrors of colonization.
- This book is full of messy characters (some of whom I thought could have stood to have a little more page time) and you're rooting for Joan the whole way. I was turning pages as fast as I could, and the final showdown had me gripped.
- The ending seems to have people split, and I can see why - if you read this book, come talk to me about what you think happens! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

lilcoppertop's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, Stalking, Sexual assault, Racism, and Mental illness

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Homophobia

mikki_9's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Grief, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Death, Child abuse, Abortion, Body shaming, and Murder

Minor: Blood and Medical content