Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Elias & Laia - In den Fängen der Finsternis

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Elias & Laia - In den Fängen der Finsternis by Sabaa Tahir

7 reviews

erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

I wish I could put my finger on the issues I have with this series. Part of it is that I don't like wars and fighting much, but it's more than that. I really love a lot of the plot points, but I run out of patience waiting for them to happen. I like the characters, but not enough to invest heavily in the plot.
I guess with this one I was hoping that it might have a bit of resolution. Although there are some major reveals that are highly rewarding, it's also obvious as we get to the final parts of the book that we are far from the end of this epic.

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rexpostfacto's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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nayomschwen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.75

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yliana's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

this series is everything. idk what it is about sabaa tahir's writing but it just pulls you right into the story. laia is struggling so much right now and i loved seeing how different people in her life supported her in different ways. honestly, i really hated blood shrike when i finished the second book but now, not so much. she's a very complicated person and i hate a lot of what she's done in the past and in this book but there's also a very present human side of her that really shines in this book.
that's definitely something i really appreciate about this series. the way that tahir writes these characters makes it really hard for you to fully hate them (except for marcus, he's a piece of shit). i also think the fallout of genocide was also handled very well. laia's lines about hating war and not seeing the point of it even when the people being decimated are the same people who tortured, abused, and sought to kill her people felt very real. absolutely no one wins in a war. everyone will lose someone important to them and that will spur on the need for revenge. it makes it so hard to stop violence because so few people are able to let go of their need to take what was taken from them. but then it also makes it hard to hate the "enemy" when you see how the violence affects them. every character in this series has to come to terms with this and it's so interesting and real to see how they each handle it so differently.
sabaa tahir is such an amazing writer. i truly love this series.

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