Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening

This was hard to read. At times the plot seemed nonsensical, and it was very, very violent. Like, dismemberment, rolling heads, blood, wanton killings, life-sucking tentacles that make you age in the blink of an eye, etc etc. The art style is mostly beautiful when it's not bloody, and Kippa is cute and Ren the Nekomancer is funny. I'm not sure they and even four-tailed nekomancer Professor Tam Tam can keep me reading the next installment... I have it checked out of the library, so I probably will give it a go...

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hanarama's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

First off, the art is beautiful. I was first drawn to this book by the art. It's very elegant and expressive even in depicting violence.

I don't know how much I can say on the story yet. The first volume (issues 1-6) set up a lot of the groundwork for what I suspect will be explored later. This early on, the story consisted mostly of world building and character establishment.

The world building is very good and is what carried me through most of the book. So early on the characters haven't undergone a lot of character development so it's really the world building that gets you interested in learning more. There seem to be many secrets hinted at, just waiting to be uncovered later on.

This volume ends on a major twist/reveal, that I think is going to drive a lot of character moments in the next volume.

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pamshenanigans's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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"'There's more hunger in the world than love.' When we were slaves, we knew endless hunger. What I feel now is worse. Why can't I stop it? Why don't I want to?"

Monstress follows the story of Maika Halfwolf, an Arcanic teenager, who survived the Great War and slavery at the hands of the Cumaeans. She is haunted by the past and is driven to uncover the truth behind her mother's murder when she was young. Plagued by the past and the present, where a monster inhabits her body, Maika has to fight for her life while discovering and embracing who she truly is.

The writing is amazing and lyrical at times. It is apt for the 1900s Asia setting and the steampunk theme it is evoking. Mixed with the fantastic art, it made for such an enthralling, adventurous, and imaginative read.

It perfectly dives into the consequences of war. How lust for power yields to deadly wars. Races fight against each other, whether for freedom or power, it depends.

In case you need some proper convincing, there are TALKING MAGICAL, SWORD-WIELDING CATS

Trigger/Content Warnings: death, violence, slavery, suicide, war

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themoon's review

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dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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f18's review

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challenging dark 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

3.5

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