Reviews tagging 'Death'

Spear by Nicola Griffith

26 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

sn03's review

adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, Bullying, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Abandonment

tamara_joy's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, and Alcohol

rat_girly's review

adventurous mysterious 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? No

3.75

A queer, gender-bent retelling of the Arthurian legend told with magical and poetic prose. Quite a short read but the pace isn’t rushed. I really liked Peretur’s character; she is kind, caring, brave, and deeply connected to nature. Great disability representation via Lance as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Infertility

Minor: Vomit

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

blewballoon's review

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I recommend going into this blind. The story is written like a folk tale, which sometimes can make you feel a little removed from what's going on and also can feel a bit like a run-on sentence with how things are described and unfold. I think I generally prefer writing that feels more personal and easy to connect with, but I don't think that was the goal here. I think the goal of writing a story that feels like an ancient fable was achieved. I think the shorter length works in its favor in that regard as well. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Death

Minor: Animal death and Sexual content

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

madzie's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 A nice queer retelling of a classic Arthurian myth. Griffith's research into the legend certainly comes through and makes an immersive world. Unfortunately, the characters often come across as a little bland. Although Per is interesting, most of the other characters do not seem to have any real purpose. Additionally, I longed for more chemistry between Per and her main love interest. Although Griffith twisted the well-known legend a little, I personally would have liked more of a twist with a plot that is not just about a bad guy who wants something and those noble enough to stop him. Nothing very shocking occurred in this book. Overall, the writing style was nice and easy to follow, and the themes were mainly well-developed, but nothing felt particularly awe-inspiring.
 
Perhaps my biggest gripe is that Griffith retells this legend from a queer perspective, and yet she is acephobic. This does not mean that Griffith had to include ace characters, but she should have ensured her language was inclusive. Unfortunately, this is not unusual for queer books. However, I think it speaks to a lack of development in her queer theme. You cannot write about accepting yourself and finding where you belong as a queer person while also noting only some queer people get that; that is contradictory. 
 
Overall, I think this book was not for me (I prefer fantasy with a little more oomph, drama, and stakes). Perfect for someone who likes and is looking for an easy, plot-driven, and atmospheric fantasy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent and Blood

Minor: Sexual assault, Infertility, Sexual content, and Animal death

quinnyquinnquinn's review

adventurous mysterious reflective 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Animal death and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual content

bluejayreads's review against another edition

 This is a weird DNF book to review, as there really isn't anything particularly wrong with it. If you'd asked me while I was reading, I would have told you it was perfectly good. If I had read it in a different situation, i.e. if I still had the job where I could read audiobooks while I worked, I absolutely would have finished it and enjoyed it. And I did enjoy it while reading. The story was weird and interesting - a more realistic retelling of Arthurian myth, twisted with magic, steeped in a genuine pre-middle-ages historical feel, and told in a stark, almost minimalist style that throws out all the rules of "show don't tell" but somehow works. There's a lot to like here. But somehow I found myself always choosing to listen to something else. In the car, I turned on the radio. On Saturday mornings, when I usually put on an audiobook while I clean my apartment, I instead chose a podcast. I can't even put my finger on why I really don't want to go back to reading this book. By all rights, it's pretty good, and I did enjoy it while reading. (I can't emphasize that enough, despite how much I've avoided reading it after the fact, I genuinely really enjoyed the parts that I did read.) I don't see much of a point of forcing myself to finish a book I'm avoiding picking up, so I'm not going to. I just still can't explain why. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual content