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tiannaedwards's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, and Child death
wannaone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Child death, Grief, Sexual assault, Gore, and Death
micksland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ultimately this is a sequel that suffers from “second novel in a trilogy” syndrome.
This was sold to me as “book one, but from a different point of view”. That is an inaccurate statement; it’s better to say that this is a prequel that eventually catches up to “Black Leopard, Red Wolf”. This book is 626 pages long, and the protagonist from book one doesn’t show up until page 500! I kept wanting the first few parts of the book to be over, because they were slow-paced character-driven escapades and I knew that there would be action happening eventually. 500 pages is really too long to wait for the exciting parts of a story.
Another frustrating detail is that Sogolon is a difficult and unlikeable character. Even though this is purposeful, I personally liked Tracker better.
That being said, the ending was phenomenal. The different takes on “what actually happened” are fascinating and I can’t wait to see if we get a “true” answer in the finale. I blew through the entire final 100 pages in a single sitting, which shows the author’s prowess when things really start moving. If the author had chosen to cut part one entirely in order to make the book faster, I would have enjoyed it much more.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Murder, Child death, and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia and Misogyny
zooix's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Body horror, Physical abuse, Death, Child death, Animal death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
This checks a lot of content warnings but some are more prevalent than others. Overall it is significantly less sexually violent than its predecessor, but has more acute grief experiences.lex_situ's review against another edition
- 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
I read BL, RW first, then this one. I really enjoyed Sogolon's story more, her development, and her impatience with Tracker by the time they finally meet in her narrative. Can't wait for the 3rd book!
Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Body horror, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Gore, and Rape
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Alcohol
lanid's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Blood, Child death, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Infidelity, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Slavery
becksusername's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Moderate: Incest, Homophobia, Violence, Vomit, War, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Grief, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Death of parent, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicide, Body horror, and Sexual violence
econsidine's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
But I was definitely wrong. Though it takes some time to get going, Sogolon is a compelling narrator, and this second book makes me very intrigued for where this series is going to go next. Something about a second book as a prequel/retelling from a different perspective is always going to be fun to me, but James goes a step further with it. Sogolon is not a direct counterpoint/pair/antagonist to Tracker, even though they have a lot of similarities, so she is not concerned with his story most of the time, which is a bizarre place to put the readers in and a reminder that there is so much damn plot and world building here that has nothing to do with the guy we spent the last book rooting for. To be clear: The previous main character of a 600+ page novel is only in its sequel for about 1/6 of it and the whole time the new narrator treats him as an annoying side character—or, as she says, “a silly slutty fool.” It’s a fun, ballsy risk to take with your sequel, and one that somehow works because the rest of the world James has built is rich enough to sustain itself without the reader’s automatic emotional buy-in from the last book.
A bunch of odd thoughts:
—Neither narrator seems to care what their audience ("the interrogator") thinks of them, and both are very matter-of-fact in tone. So I was not expecting either of them to be unreliable narrators. But there are inconsistencies between their stories that seem odd, especially as they’re not harped on, and I can’t figure out why it would be different. Am I remembering the first book wrong or is there’s some much deeper thing going on?
—The title of this book was not as strong as the previous, mainly because the actual Spider King is not really the antagonist, counterpart, or foil of Sogolon the Moon Witch. It would have made a lot more sense if the second name was a clear reference to the Aesi, who IS her direct antagonist. Which makes me wonder if he’s not referenced here because the next book is going to be about him.
—My other guess for the next book is that it will be from ( long shot ) Fumeli’s perspective and suddenly this very minor character will turn out to be super critical.
--Why is this called the Dark Star trilogy? I can't remember a single reference to stars at all in either of these books.
—One character that has yet to make a comeback is Smoke Girl. My beloved. Where’d you go?
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Slavery, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Rape, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
kingsteph's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, War, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
Minor: Homophobia, Blood, Grief, Incest, and Child death
spacecars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I don’t read fantasy, but this is by far the best book on female empowerment that I’ve read so far. Sogolon is a queen in her own right, and I stan a woman’s bloodlust for stupid men—men who only want to own women, men who only want to violate women, men who think women are just birthing machines.
Marlon James did an extremely fantastic job on this—the observations and monologues that Sogolon had on men were so relatable I found myself agreeing with everything she’s said. It’s a feat to write something so empowering when you’re not a woman, and not going through what we have to endure.
I’m left breathless by the end of this book, and I can’t emphasise how much I admire and love Sogolon for all that she’s been through and all that she does as the Moon Witch.
Read this, please, especially if you’re a woman. I guarantee that it won’t be disappointing at all.
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death, Blood, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Grief, Hate crime, Gore, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, and Child death