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offservicebookrecs 's review for:
The Last Bloodcarver
by Vanessa Le
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
"First do no harm" is the epitaph most medical students take on their first day of school. Nhika would tell you that she used to agree, but that was before the war. As a bloodcarver - a person blessed (or cursed) with the ability to alter human biology with the touch of a hand - she lives in the shadows, one step ahead of the law in the scientifically-minded industrial empire of Theumas. When Nhika is caught using her abilities during what should have been another quick scam appointment, she's captured by black market goons and sold to the highest bidder - an aristocratic family who wishes to use her abilities to solve the mystery of their father's murder.
Amidst the shell games of the elite and long days of pouring over books in pursuit of a murderer, Nhika is stunned by the parallels between their world and her own. And when a brooding and enigmatic physician's aid, Ven Kochin, steps from the shadows to interfere with her investigating at every turn, Nhika is forced to reckon with evils running deeper than blood and neurons. In the face of answers to questions she should not have asked and the reveal of secrets meant to stay in the dark, she must decide if a family's quest for vengeance, her own morals, and the lives of those around her (and her own) are worth the price of knowledge.
As a soon-to-be doctor, I thought this book wonderfully captured a bird's eye view of medicine from a really unique magic-based perspective, and did a fantastic job of catching the beating heart of healers while also creating a thrilling and dread-inducing tale of deceit and espionage. I loved the Vietnam-inspired realm of fantasy and the ways in which the cultural and societal clashes of the fantasy groups we have here mirror our own. Books do such a good job of capturing and mirroring the own woes of our societies, and I found myself drawing parallels between Le's fantasy world and the ways in which we have (past and certainly present) treated different societies poorly and to our own destruction.
As a student of osteopathic medicine I thought the bloodcarver's practice - especially in contrasted view to the more "scientific" medicine of this book - was reminiscent of the ways in which we view (and often, unfortunately, deride) allopathic (MD) medicine and other alternative practices today. Without delving too hard into spoilers, one of the overarching messages of the book was that the ways in which various practices - even in the same subset of medicine - are integrated contribute more to the whole and the betterment of the health of the patient than one can necessarily do on its own. I thought about that a lot while I was listening, and held that thread as I got lost in the intrigue and mystery (and romance!) of the story as well. I am desperate to see whether the medical aspects of these books are expanded upon in the sequel (and HOW, because my GOD the ending!!!), and think this is a great fantasy read for those in medicine and those out of medicine alike!
Amidst the shell games of the elite and long days of pouring over books in pursuit of a murderer, Nhika is stunned by the parallels between their world and her own. And when a brooding and enigmatic physician's aid, Ven Kochin, steps from the shadows to interfere with her investigating at every turn, Nhika is forced to reckon with evils running deeper than blood and neurons. In the face of answers to questions she should not have asked and the reveal of secrets meant to stay in the dark, she must decide if a family's quest for vengeance, her own morals, and the lives of those around her (and her own) are worth the price of knowledge.
As a soon-to-be doctor, I thought this book wonderfully captured a bird's eye view of medicine from a really unique magic-based perspective, and did a fantastic job of catching the beating heart of healers while also creating a thrilling and dread-inducing tale of deceit and espionage. I loved the Vietnam-inspired realm of fantasy and the ways in which the cultural and societal clashes of the fantasy groups we have here mirror our own. Books do such a good job of capturing and mirroring the own woes of our societies, and I found myself drawing parallels between Le's fantasy world and the ways in which we have (past and certainly present) treated different societies poorly and to our own destruction.
As a student of osteopathic medicine I thought the bloodcarver's practice - especially in contrasted view to the more "scientific" medicine of this book - was reminiscent of the ways in which we view (and often, unfortunately, deride) allopathic (MD) medicine and other alternative practices today. Without delving too hard into spoilers, one of the overarching messages of the book was that the ways in which various practices - even in the same subset of medicine - are integrated contribute more to the whole and the betterment of the health of the patient than one can necessarily do on its own. I thought about that a lot while I was listening, and held that thread as I got lost in the intrigue and mystery (and romance!) of the story as well. I am desperate to see whether the medical aspects of these books are expanded upon in the sequel (and HOW, because my GOD the ending!!!), and think this is a great fantasy read for those in medicine and those out of medicine alike!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent