Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

141 reviews

evelasco's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Hate crime, Murder, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Child death

Moderate: Ableism, Gaslighting, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cannibalism

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

This book is so full of big ideas, one of the most ambitious feats of literature I’ve read. I liked this one being a dual timeline with the daughter Nassun. Though part of it being in second person, although that person was obviously Essun or Hoa, felt a bit off to me. I’m sure plot wise perhaps in the third book it will make more sense as a choice. I just am not a fan overall of second person. 

Found Family, Duo POV, Second Person

“Like those weird cults that crop up from time to time. I heard of one that asks an old man in the sky to keep them alive every time they go to sleep. People need to believe there’s more to the world than there is.”

“The dreamer, the rebel, always reconsidering the way things have always been because maybe they should never have been that way in the first place.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, and Gaslighting

thenextbookdilemma's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

ericageorge91's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective 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

4.5

“To those who have no choice but to prepare their children for the battlefield.”

This book was a study in generational trauma and I was here for every second of it. After all of the world building of the first book in a series, I love being able to hit the ground running in a sequel 😌 

***SPOILERS***

As heartbreaking as it was, I loved getting Nassun’s perspective. We knew that Essun was fucked up. After everything she’d been through, how could she not be? But to see how the trauma aftershocks hit her daughter was 🥲 And to think that Essun isn’t alone in this. There are too many parents who think that preparing their kids for the ugliness of the world is doing them a kindness when they’re really becoming their kids’ first enemy. WHEW!

Schaffa 😐 I don’t know how I feel about him. Is this supposed to be a redemption arc? Because I’m not biting. He got the teeniest sliver of sympathy from me for the fact that Guardian creation also seems pretty brutal and that’s all I can afford.

TW: Child death, child abuse, grief, death, murder, sexual content (brief), cannibalism, war, toxic relationship

Rep: BIPOC characters, gay side character, bi/pan characters, trans minor character, polyamory (references)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and War

Moderate: Cannibalism and Toxic relationship

gandalf_a's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, War, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Sexual content

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.0

“But if you stay, no part of this comm gets to decide that any part of this comm is expendable. No voting on who gets to be people.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Abandonment

sproutedpages's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Murder, Death, Blood, Racial slurs, Child abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Child death and Grief

Minor: Cannibalism

Use of fictional, in-world racial slurs.

hellsjerome's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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

An enjoyable follow-up! I liked it a bit less than the first. In hindsight, it’s almost all build-up, but it definitely didn’t feel like it as I was reading and I’m incredibly excited for the last book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

brynalexa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

4.5

I don’t have much to say about this as it has run together with the first which I think is a strength of the series. The completely intertwined storylines are smart and intricate and hold the story together perfectly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Genocide, Death of parent, Child death, Murder, Hate crime, Deadnaming, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

takarakei's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0

Wowowowowwowowowwwwww! Truly masterful fantasy writing. I am in awe of Jemisin's mind. This is technically a reread, but I honestly remembered even less than the first book which I reread last month. Now going into the third book which I've never read I cannot imagine how this is going to end, but I can't wait!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Grief, Death, and Cannibalism