Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Lui che annegò il mondo by Shelley Parker-Chan

51 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I loved the first book of this series, so I expected to love the sequel as well. And I did, but it wasn't what I expected. Like the first book, he who drowned the world is a historical war novel, but the plot is much more violent. There are graphic descriptions of murder, rape, cruelty, and (self-)mutilation. It's a story full of betrayal, pain, hate and anger. We don't see as much of the loveable characters in this book. We are confronted with self-destructive hate, and most characters in this book do unspeakable things to achieve their goals. Yet Shelley Parker-Chan has written about it in such a beautiful, elegant and vulnerable way, that I found myself feeling empathy for these characters. 

I debated giving this book 5 stars, since I found it very well-written and intruiging, but I decided on a 4.75 only because the pace of the beginning and middle part of the book is a bit slow. This, combined with the fact that some chapters are very dark and heavy to read, made me put the book away quite often. However, I always enjoyed returning to this beautifully intricate world the author has described. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wowie! 
He Who Drowned the World is brutal but also so so good; I wasn't expecting it to make me as emotional as it did. It's an interesting exploration of being so absorbed with one desire and goal that you let it ruin your entire life and the lives of others, yet there's still some hope. I'm not sure if I can say I enjoyed this book, necessarily, but it's excellent and I'm glad I read it. Better than the first, in my opinion.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

If there had been slightly fewer moments meriting a content warning it would've been 5 stars for me, so maybe it will be for you. But yeah - I think it ticked more content warnings than it didn't, so, at your own risk.

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I could not stop thinking about this book. I really took my time with it as I LOVED the first one and knew it would get complex to wrap up all the leftover plot lines. This book is absolutely NOT for everyone, but the political intrigue, the questions of identity and ambition, and the world building was definitely for me. I’m so thrilled with how this series wrapped up and while my only complaint is those last 5 pages seemed to feel a tad rushed, this duology feels like the most epic fantasy from an extremely talented writer. I don’t know how they keep this all in their head, but I’m so grateful they shared their stories with the world. Check content warnings for sure, but if you like Game of Thrones, Mulan, and (dare I say) Avatar the Last Airbender, look into this one. I love it!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Almost incoherent with how much I enjoyed this. I wasn't sure if I would like it as much as book 1 at the beginning but it really built itself up from silly adventure to pondering the purpose and usefulness of any of the character's goals. This book said self destruction is not a means to an end because you cannot undo the scars. The ending tries to undo some of the bleak Outlook and darkness that the book had built up and turn it into hope and I'm not sure it did that super well (we passed the point of no return miles ago) but overall I still loved it

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