Reviews tagging 'War'

Spear by Nicola Griffith

5 reviews

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.5

I grabbed Spear as an audiobook (narrated by the author!) and I highly recommend this format for an atmospheric and immersive listening experience. As a reader less familiar with Arthurian legend, I'm sure I don't fully appreciate all of the ways in which Griffith has expanded the original myth by recasting it with her own gender-bent, queer lens, but I loved it all the same. The writing is intentionally lush, and the imagery so meticulous that it's easy to feel physically present in this magical world. This is a quick listen (just under 6 hours at 1x), and I know I'll be returning to Griffith's other works soon. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, War, Alcohol, Violence, and Grief

blacksphinx's review against another edition

reflective slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

Moderate: Dementia, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Animal death, and Mental illness

Minor: Xenophobia, Homophobia, Rape, and War

bluedilly's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Suicide, Infertility, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content, War, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Torture, Animal cruelty, Classism, Grief, Mental illness, and Rape

poetry_shaman's review

adventurous informative 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infertility, Homophobia, War, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

ehmannky's review

adventurous 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? No

5.0

 I feel like I love most Arhturian retellings, but this one was just especially good. It was weird and beautiful and it felt old. Like, you could feel that Griffith knows these stories backwards and forwards, and that she knows the cadence of that old storytelling. I think setting it in the early Medieval period really helped as well. And it's just so queer! Both in terms of the characters and the story just feels queer. I don't know how to explain it. I loved it a lot is what I'm getting at. 

 Also, the illustrations in this book are gorgeous and are just so tonally right for the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Blood

Minor: War and Sexual assault