Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Опиумная война by R.F. Kuang

1876 reviews

shamaramill's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail

rose_smyth's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail

macklyle's review against another edition

2.5

challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, War

morgybritt's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, War

chloeshade1's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I love how this book is written and it gripped me from the first page. However, I will say that there is  MASSIVE shift in the book after part 1 that caught me off guard. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation

avelavalamp's review against another edition

2.0

adventurous challenging 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: Complicated

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This was not the right fantasy book for me. I wish I’d read the content warnings first. I never skip pages, but I needed to multiple times due to graphic descriptions of really sensitive subjects. Maybe if the genocide in Gaza and Sudan and Congo weren’t top of mind, and maybe if I didn’t have tender personal history with losing a loved one to heroin abuse—maybe then I could’ve stomached the drawn-out descriptions of rape and killing babies, too. But all that added to the fact that I didn’t feel connected to a single character and  most of the main characters are fueled by rage and hate? A total miss for me. Giving it a 2 because the writing was decent overall, and Kuang didn’t recycle many sloppy, hackneyed phrases. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Rape, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Addiction, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury

This was not the right fantasy book for me. I’d wrongly assumed the poppy drug use would be abstracted. I was not prepared for detailed and gruesome depictions of mass killings/genocide, medical torture, forced heroin use, brutalization of corpses, killing of babies.

slimejules's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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i can tell already that this series is going to destroy me
docked .25 from the frustration of screaming at rin every time she makes a decision
take the trigger warnings seriously - this is a brutal read, but so worth it if you can read it safely

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

cloudyblatherskite's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Medical trauma, Colonisation, War, Classism

romeo's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

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I don't know what to say, I am speechless. I did not expect it to end like this because I don't know what I was expecting. The book always kept me guessing and surprised

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, War

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War

vilax's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, War