A review by lumidouce
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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
It is difficult to rate this book, because I genuinely adored everything about it, except for one glaring issue: the ableism. At least for Keema, it is presented as a bad thing (in the end, at least; not as much in the beginning), but I cannot say the same for other characters,
namely the tortoise and the Third Terror.


The positives: I loved the concept of the Inverted Theater. The writing style is excellent, and I personally was not confused by the POV switches. The romance between Keema and Jun felt very natural and not at all forced, unlike a lot of fantasy novels I've read lately. The fantasy world-building was immersive and wonderful, and I felt like I was able to connect to the characters and the world they were in.

The negatives: the ableism. Some characters are described in ableist ways and are treated poorly by the cast due to their differences.
The tortoise is constantly referred to as "defective," and the Third Terror was shunned by everyone and infantilized. I did not feel that either of them got the ending they deserved or were treated very well in the end.
There are a lot of sexual scenes or comments that felt unnecessary and out-of-place. There is quite a bit of graphic content, including blood, gore, and cannibalism, which I normally do not mind, but some of the descriptions of cannibalism were even too much for me.

Overall, I loved the book, and would give it 4.5 stars if not for the ableism. But I believe it was done out of ignorance and not malice, so I don't feel right giving it 1 star, either. For now, I will leave it unrated.
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