Reviews tagging 'War'

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

13 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, Xenophobia, Gore, Medical content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Child death

Moderate: Colonisation, Genocide, War, Self harm, and Dysphoria

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Animal death, and Death of parent

toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Really well executed book that engages both magic and empire in a way I haven't often seen done! I'm always excited for magic-as-science and this definitely fit the bill. Also really liked how gender and transition was handled with this, where it was relevant to the characters and the story but not necessarily the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Violence, Torture, and Vomit

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, War, Police brutality, and Colonisation

twistmalchik's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation

Minor: War and Deadnaming

chughes5's review

dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Bullying, Dysphoria, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Body horror, Racism, and War

obscurepages's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

UHM WOW WOW WOW. I didn't know exactly what to expect in this book, but this blew me away. 

I thought this was going to be a complex and compelling fantasy, and while this book is that, it's also so much more?? This book explored nuanced topics of immigration, being oppressed and being the oppressor, gender fluidity, and family. It's engrossing and heartfelt and just so damn good.

I loved that Persian culture is so present here, and the queernormative world in here is just pleasant to read about.

ALSO the author is such a good writer 😭 How they managed to make the biggest plot twist both so obvious and yet so surprising at the same time is beyond me 😭 I really thought I knew what the plot twist was, but I was actually so wrong and it's so good.

Glad to have read this for Pride Month 🥺

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Classism, War, and Dysphoria

idun_aurora's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

A short but impactful read! I do enjoy a fantasy mystery. Great setting, great characters, just beautiful and emotional. The depiction of sibling relationships is touching and genuine, so much so I could almost hear my own baby sisters whining about eggplant in the food at times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical trauma, Dysphoria, Bullying, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Abandonment, Grief, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, and Xenophobia

decaying's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Hate crime, Blood, Colonisation, Medical content, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying and Dysphoria

Minor: War and Genocide

amandadevoursbooks's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

Firuz-e Jafari, his mother, and his brother left everything to immigrate to Qilwa. They fled terrifying attacks of a bird and a mysterious land-based assailant intent on wiping out Sassanian blood magic practitioners. 

In Qilwa, Firuz finds a job at a free clinic, a mentor, a friend, and a young ward. They discover a horrible illness that seems like the result of untrained blood magic. Firuz has to find what's causing it, keep their brother and young ward safe, and hide their own magic. All while,  they face xenophobic othering.

This book examines what it's like when colonial powers shift and the colonizer becomes the refugee of its former colony. It describes an unending stream of uneasy, morally grey decisions. 

The magic system, the history, and the clashing cultures could have drug the story down. By centering the story in Firuz's relationships, Jamnia gave the story a beating heart that drives the reader forward. 

I loved the teenagers really acting as teenagers. I adored the friendly mortician. I immersed myself in the QueerINormalized world. I will definitely look forward to reading more by this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical content, War, Blood, and Xenophobia

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I don't really know what to make of this book. I liked having a nonbinary character, and the queernorm world in general. The world building was really good and I was invested in the characters and the plot. But the ending felt a bit.....I'm not sure how to describe it. I didn't hate it or anything but I don't feel like a lot was particularly resolved. It felt sudden in some ways. I dunno. I liked the book for the most part and think it was well-written, but I also don't think I'd actively recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Medical content, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, and Body horror

Moderate: Genocide and War

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Vomit

theirgracegrace's review

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

A powerful and heart-wrenching debut from Naseem Jamnia. Firuz is trying to raise their family of refugees from a nearby country under military occupation in the free city of Qilwa. However, to make ends meet, they have to hide their blood magic abilities while working in the one free hospital in the city. As they do, they discover a mysterious plot is rising, and only blood magic could be to blame. An incredible story from a queer-normative world that really speaks to the southwest Asian immigrant experience. The twist is one I did not see coming in the slightest, and the ending gave me hope for the characters' broken world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Genocide, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Self harm, Torture, Body horror, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Racism, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, War, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Police brutality, Classism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Vomit and Transphobia