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cleverbaggins's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I don't usually rate books super badly. Usually I just assume it's not for me and move on. This is one of the few books I've read that I actively hate.
I was so excited for this book. So hopeful. The content warnings needed to be 100% more specific. It is graffic and Grim and without hope. Only a couple of the characters are likeable and they're treated horribly by the main characters.
I thought this book was going to be clever. I thought the scifi aspects, the variety of species and cultures would be explored. They weren't.
This is a book that wanted to say a lot and tried the hardest and most complicated way to do it and then what it had to say was horrible.
It's advertised as matrix and a hades/persephone retelling. What the author is missing is that the darkness in both of those has hope. Has people fighting for right. Has love and the rise of a new future. This book has none of it.
I'm actively angry. This book made my skin crawl. There was nothing explored that should've been and I regret all the people I suggested it to when they wanted more retellings. You couldnt pay me to try another of the authors works.
I was so excited for this book. So hopeful. The content warnings needed to be 100% more specific. It is graffic and Grim and without hope. Only a couple of the characters are likeable and they're treated horribly by the main characters.
I thought this book was going to be clever. I thought the scifi aspects, the variety of species and cultures would be explored. They weren't.
This is a book that wanted to say a lot and tried the hardest and most complicated way to do it and then what it had to say was horrible.
It's advertised as matrix and a hades/persephone retelling. What the author is missing is that the darkness in both of those has hope. Has people fighting for right. Has love and the rise of a new future. This book has none of it.
I'm actively angry. This book made my skin crawl. There was nothing explored that should've been and I regret all the people I suggested it to when they wanted more retellings. You couldnt pay me to try another of the authors works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Racism, Xenophobia, War, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Misogyny
jfull12's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Violence
story_goblin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
This book is very intense. It’s about finding our own voice through everything that has happened to us. Despite the way she was raised, despite the abuse she suffered, through it all, the protagonist made her own decision in the end. Due to some of my own experiences, it was important to me to see her choose which aspects of her upbringing and abuse to reject and which aspects to mold into her chosen self. I am generally wary of stories that involve abuse because most oversimplify the healing process and/or over-focus on the trauma. This book did neither of those things. It does not pull punches about her abuse, but it also does not spend pages detailing the horrific details. It does not victim-blame, but it does allow the victim to be a complex, complicated person. Who are is not solely dependent on what happened to us, nor is what happened to us insignificant in the crafting of ourselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Rape, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Racism, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Xenophobia, and Classism
kndavis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, and Trafficking
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
thereadingskeleton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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? Yes
Rep: Black MC (plus many other BIPOC characters), nonbinary characters (of an alien race with different gender than humans, use xe/xyr pronouns)
Comprised of three interwoven stories and told in a nonlinear fashion, Destroyer of Light takes place on the planet Eleusis, where the remains of humanity relocated after alien conquerors destroyed Earth. The three stories build and tangle, rushing toward a confrontation that threatens to not only upend the precarious balance of Eleusian society but also destroy the planet entirely.
It’s difficult to talk too much about the plot of Destroyer of Light without potential spoilers. In my opinion, many of the plot points that a discussion would reveal are fairly easy to predict, but I don’t want to ruin anyone’s reading experience. I’ll just say that, although a lot of this book was difficult for me to read (please see the CWs), there were many things I loved. I enjoyed finding all the little nods to Greek mythology and the story of Persephone, and I found the exploration of colonization and trauma compelling.
Overall, I recommend this if you are a fan of science fiction and Greek mythology and want a book that will make you think.
Comprised of three interwoven stories and told in a nonlinear fashion, Destroyer of Light takes place on the planet Eleusis, where the remains of humanity relocated after alien conquerors destroyed Earth. The three stories build and tangle, rushing toward a confrontation that threatens to not only upend the precarious balance of Eleusian society but also destroy the planet entirely.
It’s difficult to talk too much about the plot of Destroyer of Light without potential spoilers. In my opinion, many of the plot points that a discussion would reveal are fairly easy to predict, but I don’t want to ruin anyone’s reading experience. I’ll just say that, although a lot of this book was difficult for me to read (please see the CWs), there were many things I loved. I enjoyed finding all the little nods to Greek mythology and the story of Persephone, and I found the exploration of colonization and trauma compelling.
Overall, I recommend this if you are a fan of science fiction and Greek mythology and want a book that will make you think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Death, Blood, Gore, and Trafficking
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
jesm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"Destroyer of Light" by Jennifer Marie Brissett follows several interwoven timelines, in a world where humans were forced to flee from Earth.
There was some super interesting world building in this one and the way the author created alien species was really fascinating. I really liked how Brissett tackled the complexities of communicating with species vastly different than your own.
I particularly loved the two brothers who worked sort of as private investigators, but also have a really interesting psychic link to one another.
Throughout the story there was so much intricate exploration of how we connect to each other. Across time, species, planets. Connections between captor and prisoner, child and adult, brothers, partners, parents. Each relationship was different, and yet hinged on the mutual need for one another to survive.
And it also explores what relations we can survive without. Which was both devastating and grimly hopeful.
There is some SUPER heavy content though! So please take care of yourself and read the content warnings for this one!
Nothing seemed out of place or gratuitous, or just for shock value though. All the intense situations were there for intricate thematic reasons, which is something I respect as a reader. I cared about the characters before, during, and after the trauma they suffered, rather than feeling manipulated by it.
There was some super interesting world building in this one and the way the author created alien species was really fascinating. I really liked how Brissett tackled the complexities of communicating with species vastly different than your own.
I particularly loved the two brothers who worked sort of as private investigators, but also have a really interesting psychic link to one another.
Throughout the story there was so much intricate exploration of how we connect to each other. Across time, species, planets. Connections between captor and prisoner, child and adult, brothers, partners, parents. Each relationship was different, and yet hinged on the mutual need for one another to survive.
And it also explores what relations we can survive without. Which was both devastating and grimly hopeful.
There is some SUPER heavy content though! So please take care of yourself and read the content warnings for this one!
Nothing seemed out of place or gratuitous, or just for shock value though. All the intense situations were there for intricate thematic reasons, which is something I respect as a reader. I cared about the characters before, during, and after the trauma they suffered, rather than feeling manipulated by it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Death, and Child abuse
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