Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

181 reviews

fairyollie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I wish I liked this book more than I did. there is a lot I could say, both good and bad, but I'll try and keep it short and spoiler-free as possible. it was very ambitious, to say the least, as a gothic, sci-fi, fantastical, dystopian, magical, necromantic story.

• Pacing: the pacing was weird and difficult. the plot does not start until about 45-50% through the story, and I found it very difficult to keep reading until then. 
• Humor: there were a LOT of references to memes and very-2016 humor. I was not a fan of this, because abrupt jokes, comments, and references to memes were so out of place for the setting. it also makes it difficult for a book to age well when using humor and jokes from a specific, short-lived time period.
• Characters: I did not particularly care for or find myself rooting, relating to, and enjoying almost any of the characters! their motives, their rationale, their background, were lost or not fully fleshed-out, and certain choices seemed random. just didn't mesh for me.
• Setting: as said above, the first half of the book was slow, and it was not used for world-building or introducing the characters or lore at all. I think more world-building, to better understand who everyone is, what's going on, purpose, lore, how the mecromatic magic system works, anything  - just more of why/what/how, would have really elevated the book more.
• also, this is entirely my bad, as it's literally a book about necromancers, but I don't handle gore very well lol. not a book flaw but a personal skill issue!

I wanted to like this book, and was planning to read this for a very long time, but it just fell short for me. I would recommend this to others, as I know there are many people who would (and do!) enjoy this, but for myself, it was just a difficult, bit juvenile, time. I am happy I finally had the chance to read it, and wish I had enjoyed it more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Grief, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Child death, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Death of parent

knightreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Cancer, Vomit, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Confinement, War, and Cannibalism

caelinsullivan's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Terminal illness, Grief, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Suicide, Slavery, and Medical content

adbooks20's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Torture, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death, Grief, and Body horror

Moderate: Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Cancer, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide attempt, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Terminal illness

book_snail's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

Genuinely can't stress this more: go into this blind, and expect your experience of the book to be unique to what you might've heard online. It's really hard to describe what this story is actually about, so it's best to experience it firsthand and draw your own conclusions :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Child abuse, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Child death, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Bullying, Cannibalism, Cursing, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Grief

marysunburn's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? Yes

3.75

I HATED Harrowhark when I started, and I am so glad she managed to change my mind. 
The worldbuilding was heavy and at times confusing, but the dialogue was engaging and refined and the fight scenes were cinematic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Classism, Death, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Terminal illness, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Gore, Medical content, Grief, and Religious bigotry

dani_365's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Blood, Torture, Death, and Body horror

Minor: Genocide, Death of parent, and Slavery

ctara2123's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, and Cursing

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cannibalism, Terminal illness, Grief, and Vomit

Minor: War

sopbee's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Cancer, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Violence

chloe5454's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, Cursing, Cancer, Confinement, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Cannibalism, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infertility