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mandywoah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
While the subject matter of this series is hard to handle and difficult to digest, the writing itself isn’t. I had been hooked on these books since page one of The Poppy War.
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Addiction, War, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Genocide, Gore, Child death, and Colonisation
marx_marvelous's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Addiction, Colonisation, Genocide, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, War, Drug use, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Misogyny, Mental illness, and Sexism
timtalkinbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think it's mostly pacing and the fact that Rin is a cruel and genuinely insufferable person. So being in her angry head can get a bit old.
BUT
1. I think the fact Kuang is as old as me and she was writing something like this in her early 20s is incredible. I can't wait to see how her prose and storytelling abilities evolve as she gets older.
2. She spent basically three books hinting at shaman battles and when we get to that it doesn't disappoint.
3. The way this concluded was the only way I could see it conclude. It doesn't feel like she backed herself into a corner though. It feels like she had this planned from the start and I love that.
4. Can't wait to start the next Stormlight book because hooboy this was some DARK fantasy, but I love that it takes its inspiration from Chinese history and religion. It's a really cool angle to take a fantasy book and a much needed breath of fresh air. (I'm sure I'm not the first person to say that.)
5. Voice actor Emily Woo Zeller (Panam in Cyberpunk 2077) narrated the hell outta the audio books. I usually hate when the narrator does voices that are their opposite gender, think Jim Dale doing Hermione's voice in the Harry Potter audiobooks, but she's great with both.
Overall a great trilogy.
Grim, brutal and violent enough that I can't think of a time where I will want to pick these up again.
Graphic: Cursing, Child death, Murder, War, Violence, Racism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Alcoholism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
Feels like they hint that one of the gods has basically raped the character when he gave them their powers, it's definitely meant to disturb and not treayfed lightly.daisy2050's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Blood, Body horror, Torture, War, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
ginalucia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Xenophobia, Murder, Genocide, Death, War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Suicide, and Hate crime
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Vomit, Classism, Xenophobia, Animal death, Toxic friendship, and Forced institutionalization
a_wandering_thinker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Das Worldbuilding und die Parallelen zur echten Welt waren gleichzeitig das beste an den Büchern als auch eine Schwachstelle. Zum einen habe ich so viel über Krieg und Staatenbildung gelernt wie bei keinem Buch zuvor. Darüber, wozu Menschen fähig sind, was Revolutionen kosten, über Religion, Kolonialismus und Abgründe der Menschlichkeit. Auf der anderen Seite musste ich mich bei jedem Element der Story fragen, welches reale Ereignis es wohl inspiriert hat, dass sich die Handlung manchmal wie eine sehr ausgeschmückte Allegorie für Real-Life-Events anfühlte, anstatt zu etwas Eigenem zu werden (was immer noch viel über unsere echte Geschichte und Kulturen aussagen kann, aber ohne davon zu dominiert zu werden).
Ein anderer Kritikpunkt, vor allem von diesem Band, ist, wie Dialog-lastig es war. Ich hätte mir ein wenig mehr ruhige Momente gewünscht, die die Handlung nicht mit Macht vorangetrieben hätten, etwas mehr bildliche Beschreibung von Szenen. Trotzdem war die Story extrem immersive und packend.
Insgesamt ist die Trilogie eine 4.5 ⭐️ für mich. Absolut beeindruckend, realistisch, packend, und ich liebe es, wie mit vielen Tropes gebrochen wird. Ich freue mich schon, als nächstes Babel zu lesen.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, Gore, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Eating disorder, Trafficking, Sexism, Death of parent, and Excrement
bookishedi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Addiction, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, and War
Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Cannibalism
rdawnl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Rape, Murder, Child death, Cannibalism, and War
Moderate: Vomit, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Racism, Cursing, Violence, Torture, and Racial slurs
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Fire/Fire injury
nataaaliya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicide, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Addiction, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, War, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Cursing
cturn's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Genocide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Death, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Genocide, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Torture, Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal death, and Toxic friendship