Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

51 reviews

dreadspawn's review

adventurous 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Medical content, Slavery, Blood, Murder, Trafficking, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Rape

ripxw's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, War, Violence, and Genocide

reddeddy's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Body horror, Gore, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Slavery, Xenophobia, Racism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Animal death, Alcohol, Bullying, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Genocide, Animal cruelty, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, and Sexism

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Child death, Outing, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Torture, Child abuse, Biphobia, Antisemitism, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Drug use, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Islamophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, and Rape

jenn_amanda's review

adventurous emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Genocide, Classism, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Trafficking, Violence, Kidnapping, Slavery, Torture, War, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Blood, Child death, and Cursing

seanml's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

There are many conflicting words and opinions that The City of Brass brings about. The most important one though is this: promising. It's marketed as adult fantasy, and yet you'll find many instances of tropes and ideas popular in young adult literature. The person of low social class thrust into a very powerful position of luxury, the romance between a normal person and a god-like but very dangerous but VERY hot individual, a healthy dose of normal person thrust into magical world they didn't know was there a la Harry Potter. Much of the dialogue sounds very modern despite the story taking place in the 1800s and many characters being hundreds of years older than that. Moving past all that, I would still recommend this book. Chakraborty understands her world and her characters well enough to give the reader investment and interest in this world. The novel's biggest selling point is the society she creates - the conflict between a pureblood upper caste and a mixed lower caste is nothing new in literature, but Chakraborty treats the plot with precision and care. No side is made out to be a faceless villain, but there's also no preachy sense of 'both sides are equally bad' going on. There's no sense of preachiness at all: the world feels lived in and at its natural conclusion of thousands of years of buildup rather than artificially held together for the plot. The pros outweigh the cons and I hear the sequels improve in spades. 8/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Gore, Murder, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Outing and Homophobia

librarianeno's review

adventurous mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Genocide

queerreaderchaos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Racism, Animal death, Blood, Rape, Death, Medical content, Genocide, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Slavery, Hate crime, War, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Minor: Cancer and Religious bigotry

pandaintheshelves's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I loved this book. 

 I enjoyed the Middle Eastern mythology and the Muslim rep in a fantasy setting. Can't attest for their accuracy because I don't belong to the culture, but it was a nice change of pace. So, if you're a fantasy lover looking to diversify your readings, I'd definitely recommend this one. 

The FMC is resourceful, brave, and witty, without falling into the "I'm not like other girls" type. She's also morally grey, impulsive, and relatable as a young character in a dangerous world with very high stakes she's learning to navigate. And she's not the only interesting one

One of the things that I enjoyed the most about this book is that every single character has its own voice. No one feels flat, and you end up caring for them no matter how little time they appear. 

Yes, this is a YA story (or at least is how it's marketed around here) but it has very adult themes. Also, there are moments of very explicit violence. So, please, check the content warnings. 

What could be a deal breaker for some readers but wasn't for me? 

It's slow-paced, especially at the beginning. But as the first book of a trilogy, that's not surprising. Around the 50% mark, things start moving faster. 

Also, the world-building takes a lot of pages. But given the complexity of the universe we're reading here, and the way it was balanced with presenting the characters and their conflicts, I was not bothered. 

If you're a fast-paced, give-me-some-action-now kind of reader, this may not be for you. But if you want to give it a try anyway, I'd recommend the audiobook. 

Also, I would like to clarify THIS IS NOT A ROMANTASY BOOK. Yes, there's romance, but it's not the center of the story. This is high-stakes fantasy WITH a romantic subplot.

Having said that, I loved the banter between the characters involved romantically. Some of the scenes got me giggling and kicking my feet in the air while making tea kettle noises. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Slavery, Violence, and Racism

Moderate: Kidnapping, Body horror, and Death

Minor: Genocide and Rape

inez_hunter's review

adventurous emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Genocide, Gore, Sexism, Blood, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Misogyny

kat1105's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Gaslighting, Rape, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Racism, Toxic friendship, Torture, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Slavery