Scan barcode
quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and War
Moderate: Kidnapping, Drug use, Medical content, Suicide, Death, and Grief
Minor: Confinement and Homophobia
daniella84's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for providing me an eARC to review!
A really solid - but brutal - duology about revolution, colonialism, and civil rights.
While I wasn't quite as engrossed by this as I was with the first book, it still had a lot of the elements I really enjoyed. There was lots of post-colonial theory about the use/necessity of violence, and I think Elsbai did a really good job of showing Giorgina's conflict with this in particular. The characters all had interesting journeys to follow throughout the duology, and there is a hopeful ending for most of them.
It was a bit of a difficult read as it does feel very rooted in reality despite it being a fantasy novel, so the descriptions of brutal violence are unpleasant. Lots of content warnings for violence/gore, self-immolation, and threats of sexual assault. I would still recommend to fans of RF Kuang's fantasy works, or anyone more generally who is looking for historically-informed fantasy that delves a bit deeper into the mechanics of revolution.
A really solid - but brutal - duology about revolution, colonialism, and civil rights.
While I wasn't quite as engrossed by this as I was with the first book, it still had a lot of the elements I really enjoyed. There was lots of post-colonial theory about the use/necessity of violence, and I think Elsbai did a really good job of showing Giorgina's conflict with this in particular. The characters all had interesting journeys to follow throughout the duology, and there is a hopeful ending for most of them.
It was a bit of a difficult read as it does feel very rooted in reality despite it being a fantasy novel, so the descriptions of brutal violence are unpleasant. Lots of content warnings for violence/gore, self-immolation, and threats of sexual assault. I would still recommend to fans of RF Kuang's fantasy works, or anyone more generally who is looking for historically-informed fantasy that delves a bit deeper into the mechanics of revolution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, Colonisation, Police brutality, and War
Minor: Sexual assault
More...