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rosieclaverton 's review for:
Embers of War
by Gareth L. Powell
[CW: war crimes]
I enjoyed 99% of this book. The characters are well-realised, the setting is vivid, and the speculative elements enhance the plot beautifully.
But one thing really, really bothered me.
There are two instances in this book where there is a graphic, gratuitous description of death that was physically repulsive to me. I’m a doctor - I don’t get squeamish. But this was unnecessary.
One involved the description of how a group of children were murdered. I almost put the book down there, for good. I basically only picked it back up to move past that image in my mind.
I know that war is bad and terrible things happen. But these pieces were so out of step with the rest of the book that they threw me from the narrative and soured the whole experience.
On balance, I would like to read more, but I hope that these “grittier” scenes are omitted next time round.
I enjoyed 99% of this book. The characters are well-realised, the setting is vivid, and the speculative elements enhance the plot beautifully.
But one thing really, really bothered me.
There are two instances in this book where there is a graphic, gratuitous description of death that was physically repulsive to me. I’m a doctor - I don’t get squeamish. But this was unnecessary.
One involved the description of how a group of children were murdered. I almost put the book down there, for good. I basically only picked it back up to move past that image in my mind.
I know that war is bad and terrible things happen. But these pieces were so out of step with the rest of the book that they threw me from the narrative and soured the whole experience.
On balance, I would like to read more, but I hope that these “grittier” scenes are omitted next time round.