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bookmark3brodi's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, and War
kalmia31's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical trauma, Vomit, and Body horror
Moderate: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Child death, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cannibalism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Self harm, Cancer, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
snipinfool's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I really, really wanted to love this book. It was an intriguing story. Multiple teams vying for the chance to win accolades is usually a winner for me. While the story centered around Gideon and Harrow, having multiple house teams with both a lead and cavalier made it difficult for me to remember who each person was and what house they were from. I wish the author had written more interactions between the competitors so readers could learn more about their individual characteristics and what role they played. I read the e-book version and there was a "Cohort Intelligence File" at the end which told more about each person in the competition. I would have loved that information at the beginning. I didn't know it was a more detailed cast of characters info until after I finished the story. The pacing of the book was way off for me. The difference between the first half of the book and the second was like night and day. The first half was so slow. I considered DNFing it, but I was reading it for my book group and wanted to give it a chance. The second half was wonderful. It was much more fast paced and I loved every bit of it. Overall, it was an interesting book and I am glad I continued reading it.
Graphic: Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Terminal illness
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I went into this book knowing almost nothing beyond the tag line of Lesbian Necromancers in Space and that it was genre-bending for sci-fi and fantasy. That was enough to sell me on reading it, even though I heard mixed things.
Did it deliver on those premises? Mostly. There are characters that identified as women and showed attraction/flirted with others that also identified as women, some of those characters were also necromancers. With regards to being in space, there is very limited space shuttle travel, so I don't know that I would really quantify it that way, though there is ample room for that to change for the future in the series.
This book was indeed a crossover between sci-fi and fantasy in that it involved a technologically advanced civilization (space travel, and such) but with the deep roots of necromancy that almost took it into dark academia territory. The necromancers are all obsessed in learning new theorems/spells and figuring out things in their specializations, and there are also trials they have to pass and mysteries to solve before they can advance.
There's a lot of tension because it is a competition and you don't really begin to understand the stakes until Act II and then the full whammy hits you near the end.
Also, I feel like I have a conspiracy theory based on the epilogue/info peppered throughout the book so click for spoilers, I guess:
Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, Murder, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Cancer, Death, Slavery, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Terminal illness, Bullying, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Child death, Stalking, and War
boglord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Suicide, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: War, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
misoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Ngl I couldn't drop it once I began reading the first page. It's been the first book I read in less than a week for the first time in ages. I laughed and yell and sobbed.
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Suicide, Gore, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Genocide, and Physical abuse
knerys's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Violence, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Suicide, and Vomit
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Genocide
goldsbuc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Chronic illness
avadore's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Self harm
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content