Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

9 reviews

lira_the_recluse's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I love a well conceived magic system and Foundry side has that in spades. Characters and the central mystery/plot were exquisite. 

If I had a nickel every time I read a book in the last two months where

the villain was really the brilliant cast aside and assumed weak woman getting her revenge

I would have 3 nickels.

I do have some qualms. 1) occasionally the book equats being fat with being evil / greedy / lazy. 2) page breaks that don't change POV or skip any time. 

Something like:
"Sancia reached into her pocket and threw the scribed sphere. A brilliant white flash lit up the room

...

When her eyes recovered, Sancia dove rushed the guard to grab his sword arm".

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Slavery, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, and Medical content

Moderate: Confinement, Sexual assault, Torture, and Car accident

beebidon's review

adventurous mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Slavery, Trafficking, War, Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Classism, Murder, Mental illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Police brutality, Torture, Sexism, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Dementia

Minor: Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

jjjreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Xenophobia, Confinement, Excrement, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Torture, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Slavery, Stalking, Suicide, Trafficking, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Rape

laguerrelewis's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.75

I came across this book thanks to its mention in an essay about creative commentary through sci-fi/fantasy systems, in which it was lauded in the same breath as N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. I am happy to report that it lives up to this comparison. The “magic” system of this book is incredibly unique and inspired, and Robert Jackson Bennett skillfully increases how complexly it is applied in a very rewarding way. His style is similar to Brandon Sanderson, with a nice balance of humor, despair, and optimism. And the best part is this book is basically a series of heists with ever increasing stakes and reality-warping magic! This would be a 5 star review if not for some politics regarding policing that feel outdated from a 2023 perspective and the handling of a certain characters’ trauma. I think that element could’ve been handled more tactfully. Ultimately, though,  this book was quite the enjoyable read, and I’m excited to read the next installment!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Slavery, Torture, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Violence, Vomit, War, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Medical content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Cannibalism and Death of parent

faduma's review

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

milkelves's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Body horror, Classism, Medical trauma, Medical content, Slavery, Trafficking, and Misogyny

rockemodrums's review

adventurous dark medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Medical content, Torture, and Slavery

Minor: Cannibalism

fromjuliereads's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious 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

I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK. Wow. I am so surprised. I had no idea what to fully expect going into this book but did it DELIVER! Fantastic characters, great world building, epic heists, a unique and complex magic system, and I went through ALL of the emotions! I am not even kidding. I teared up multiple times, was on the edge of my seat with stress, smiled like an idiot, and laughed out loud. This is my kind of book through and through.
It starts out slower because there is so much that has to be set up in the initial chapters and first section of the book. But goodness, is it worth it for the vast wealth of story that you get farther in.

I stand by it that Clef is my favourite character. But I have such an immense appreciation fo Sancia, Gregor, Berenice, and even Orso! All of the characrers are developed so well, and they all have some kind of arc and growth throughout the story.
The heists are EPIC and the twists and turns? Goodness I was on the edge of my seat... figuratively. But this was so good. I am really looking forward to seeing where else this series goes! (If my heart can take it that is...)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

caidyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This review can also be found on my blog!

CW: violence, gore, murder, domestic abuse, PTSD, and human experimentation

When I picked this book, it was pretty random. I needed a heist book for the prompt. Literally all the books I could think of, I’d read or DNFed or didn’t have any interest in. I actually had one picked out and my library didn’t have it. So, I saw this on my dash with a review about it being a heist. So, I picked it. (Also, I’d read another book by him and enjoyed it!)

And, damn, was this a ride.

The world itself was so interesting. There are the Founders, who founded this new city and world. However, they pine back for the old people who built things that were quite impossible. The Founders do their best to follow their lead by using magic or something to make stronger, more powerful artifacts like the people before them.

Sancia is a thief, a very good one thanks to something odd about her. She’s given a mission to steal something from a lord of a city. It has a lot of power behind it and people desperately want it.

What I liked most about Sancia was that she wasn’t like other female characters in fantasy books. She was thoughtful. She didn’t brashly rush into things, nearly getting herself and everyone else killed in the process. She thought. She thought things through to make calculated moves. She was just an impressive character. Oh, and she’s queer. It’s never stated outright, but there are only female love interests shown for her.

The book then introduces more people. The son of a powerful Founder, a man who collects artifacts, a woman who works for the collector (and is also queer and going to be a part of a burgeoning sapphic romance), and others. Basically, we got ourselves a team.

Throw in epic fights, an interesting world that kept expanding, and some very interesting pasts, and you got a recipe for a great book.

As I said, it was so impressive. I really loved reading every little bit of it because I wanted to know what was going to happen. It was just a damn good book and I’m super excited for the next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Violence