Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Bruising of Qilwa

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

31 reviews

bisexualwentworth'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

4.5

Oh this book is GOOD! The way it explores its characters and its central themes, the way Naseem Jamnia creates and develops an entire world in so few pages... yes yes yes.

The blood magic was fascinating and dark, and I feel like we receive just enough information about it for its role in the story to land the way its supposed to. The main character and the antagonist are both well-meaning, flawed people. The plot didn't go the way I expected, and it was much more compelling than what I was expecting!

And I loved reading the author's afterword at the end of the book. I generally try to judge books on their own merits, but I do think that authorial intent is relevant, and I always love a thoughtful reflection on why something was written. It made me appreciate the book even more.

The beginning was a bit rough. I didn't get into the book right away. But was I was engaged, I finished the rest of it in one day. I look forward to more from this author/this world!

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thegillbird's review

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fast-paced

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

3.25

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bazer63's review

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

The central mystery was engaging and I enjoyed the references to real medicine and old medical theories in a fantasy setting, but the magic system felt a bit un fleshed out for how much focus it got, and the characters needed a few more moments of characterisation to better explore their dynamics. The worldbuilding more broadly was fun and I liked the attention paid to the textiles to set the scene.

The finale was weird thematically and the fact the finale's conflict drew attention to the historical conflict between the two ethnic groups could have been better forshadowed as for the most of the book the protagonist is part of an oppressed class and right at the end it's brought up that the protagonist's ethnic group used to oppress the Qilwa, which should have been tied more into the story if it was such an important part of the finale.

All in all a good book that could have used a couple dozen more pages to really flesh out the characters and world and make it great. Additonally, the author's thoughts at the end are worth considering and I'm open to the idea that someone of a different background could connect to the themes more than I did.

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gcrkl's review

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adventurous inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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nessynoname's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book has a lot of things going for it, but I found myself wanting it to give a little more. I really do think it could have used an extra hundred pages at least.

The concepts are all fantastic: a medical-fantasy story set in a queernormative Persian inspired world, with themes of immigration, xenophobia, conquest and class struggle. It is clear that the author writes from such a informed place as a person with a medical background and both Persian and queer identity. I just wish they would take more time with their exposition and character building.

I feel like I still don't have a very firm grasp on the history/geopolitics of this region because it is all delivered in very quick little spurts throughout the narrative. The characters too, feel... alright, but I don't know that I would really say that I really came to know any of them deeply.

I picked this book up for its asexual representation, and this is definitely an instance of the "it's not a big deal" kind of representation, where main character Firuz has a moment of internal narration noticing their brother acting flirty and sheepish to another character and Firuz ponders the contrast to their own disinterest to romance and sex, and that's all that's made of it. This is perfectly fine and an important form of representation, though I am personally currently hungry for some books of characters exploring their ace identities more at length. For those who are maybe not ace/aro but who prefer books with no romantic themes this will do nicely.

This is a good book, and worth the time, it just needed a bit more to be a great book.

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trips's review

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A beautifully written novella about extremely current topics set in a very interesting magic world. I appreciate the inclusion of non-binary and trans character in a setting where others are fine with whatever you see yourself as but who/what you want to be perceived still very important to the identity of the characters themselves.
The other themes of the book, facing oppression as someone who's people were previously oppressor's, is not quite expanded as much as I wish it had been. Honestly I think this novella needed to be fully fleshed out into a full novel. The author has good ideas, just would have liked more of it to really understand the world and feel more invested in the character motivations.

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