Reviews with content warning for Vomit - The Bruising of Qilwa

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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shelvesofivy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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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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quinnyquinnquinn's review

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.0

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kimapede's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

4.75

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buttermellow's review

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informative mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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avisreadsandreads's review

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challenging dark mysterious 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

2.5

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madzie's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The amazing magic system and cool, in-depth writing about healing and the body really makes this book come to life. Unfortunately, while the worldbuilding was good, I wanted a better understanding of it. I enjoyed how it wasn't shoved down the reader's throat at the expense of the story, but I still felt like I wanted more context. At times, it even left me feeling a little lost and confused. The characters were solid, very dynamic, and had great and engaging relationships with each other, and I loved the unashamed queerness! However, I wanted to know more about the characters to feel a connection to them (perhaps a fallout of the length). Additionally, the writing is excellent and straightforward while still being descriptive and capturing the reader's imagination.

The plot was structured pretty basically but used effectively, and the shortness of the book seemed to be used more to its advantage than other short books I've read. The ending was very predictable, but the "villain's" motivation was interesting, so I wasn't too upset for guessing what was happening early. The themes are so pertinent to our time and explore disease, class, and poverty very well. While Jamina makes an inquisitive look into how humans have treated, taken over, and killed one another for generations, I feel like the book could have benefited from more exploration into how horrifying, unquestionably wrong, and detrimental genocide, prejudice, forced assimilation, and loss of culture are.

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