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alipenguinface's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Fuckin hell 😂😂😂😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, and Alcohol
lizziaha's review against another edition
3.75
One thing that Robin Hobb has gotten right with these first two books is the way she writes the last quarter of the book. I was reading this sort of concurrently with another book (If We Were Villains) that had tension that coiled tighter and tighter. This book has tension but it builds, getting bigger and bigger until everything near the end of the book feels larger than life. Everything falls apart for Fitz in a way that I didn’t expect. It felt much more complex than most other fantasy books, and I appreciate that Robin Hobb continually makes me think I know where it’s going, but the characters make it go somewhere completely different. Maybe that’s the genius of being so deeply entrenched in one character’s brain for the entire book. All this being said, the building portion, the slow burn, can feel boring at the time. Which makes it hard to enjoy the book as a whole. I also want to read more about the women in the series. Fitz’s world is a man’s world, and while the women are equally as complex, we don’t get to see that as much in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Torture
Moderate: Death, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Confinement, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
kirstym25's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Confinement
Minor: Rape
luise96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Child death
mqabbadbest's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cannibalism, and Torture
laurajeangrace's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Vomit, Blood, War, and Torture
Moderate: Cannibalism and Confinement
Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, Miscarriage, and Suicide
beeeaux's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Robin Hobb’s style is mystifying and beautiful. I love reading these books. However, I think she is too in love with Fitz as an author. The end of this book was a little.. weird.. but fun and certainly impressive. Fitz and Molly’s relationship is incredibly pointless to me. I haven’t read the third one, and I suppose Fitz being clueless about women is supposed to be his fatal flaw but this book particularly could be so much better if there was a) less happening to him so his immaturity becomes better developed or focused on b) no romance subplot and he just slept around c) NASTY GAY SEX and 10x more Fool time. Whatever, no one wants to hear the truth. bye. (aka the love and attention Hobb pays to the development of the Fitz and the Fool is delicate and incredible and then theres just Molly Red Skirts r u freaking kidding me?! its just lame and ruins the magic)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Torture
downtowndaly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Animal death, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
laraloops's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
I loved this book, a great second book that like the first was rather slow and steeped in politics and slow torture of Fitz. The conflicts he encounters is reflective over his growth as a person and character.
The book felt short to me as I was on my toes pushing through to see how things could get better for Fitz and how everything could crash down - the last 100 pages was quite the climax that didn't really let up until the last couple of pages. I definitely saw some twists coming but the story still unfolded in a way I wasn't expecting. The character work was fantastic and I'm excited to see how the trilogy will conclude.
I loved the part when he goes "crazy" at the banquet - so violent and yet satisfying.
The book felt short to me as I was on my toes pushing through to see how things could get better for Fitz and how everything could crash down - the last 100 pages was quite the climax that didn't really let up until the last couple of pages. I definitely saw some twists coming but the story still unfolded in a way I wasn't expecting. The character work was fantastic and I'm excited to see how the trilogy will conclude.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Child death, and Torture
lanna_aud's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood
Minor: Addiction