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Probably one of the best fantasy work I have ever read. As usual, Kuang strikes true and hard, her prose incredible, poetic and gutwrenching in the best way possible.
Her stories pull at something deep inside of you and nestle there to never leave, and I welcome them with open arms.
A must read for any fantasy lover.
However, do check the trigger warnings beforehand.
This book is raw and Kuang doesn't coddle the reader. The atrocities that war inevitably brings are showed in all their horror. This is not a light read and some scenes are very graphic.
Please read the trigger warnings if you are a sensitive reader.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Pregnancy
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, War
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Rape, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Confinement, Suicide, Kidnapping
I knew going into chapter 21 (beginning of part three) that it was going to be brutal, but it was so so much worse than I anticipated, and honestly really overshadowed the rest of the book for me. Yes, I think it was all written incredibly well, and RFK is an incredible author, and it was necessary to the story. But it was still just... a lot. I don't think any of this was trauma porn, but it was so much more brutal than I thought it would be. I thought based on reviews I'd seen from people I trust, and from my love for SoK that this would be a for sure 5 star, or maybe like a 4.5, but after part three it's closer to a 3/3.5I may change my rating at some point, but for now that's where I landed.
If you are someone who enjoys war fantasies and you're aware of the trigger/content warnings, I think this can be a fantastic book. Like I said, it was incredibly well written and didn't feel like the violence was just being depicted for the sake of violence. At this moment I'm not sure I'll continue with the series, but I do think that despite my hesitancy and lack of love for this in the end, RFK is an excellent writer and I'm glad I experienced that regardless of my final thoughts.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Addiction, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, War
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism
Moderate: Racism, Sexism
Minor: Cursing
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, War, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use
Minor: Torture, Medical trauma