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directorpurry's reviews
1629 reviews
Song of Susannah by Stephen King
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Rape and Car accident
The Broken Vow by Scott Westerfeld
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, and Death of parent
Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Animal death
Moderate: Death of parent
Black Shield Maiden by Jess Hendel, Willow
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I received an ARC of this novel for free via Goodreads giveaway. This has not affected my final review.
Conceptually, a story about a Viking and an African warrior becoming friends is super interesting! But I find the execution to be lackluster and I found myself wondering at some of the historical representations of characters and cultural events. I did not become particularly attached to any of the characters and couldn't always keep it straight between the three narrators.
At less than 500 pages, this book had no right to feel as long as it did. But it was such a slog for me to get through! By about the 60% mark I found myself skimming to the end. It did pick up my attention again around the last 40 or so pages but by then it was too late. There's also a little "this story picks up again in the sequel!" tease on the last page of my ARC but I was like, "Absolutely not." So I don't think these authors will be ones I revisit any time soon.
If I wasn't so opposed to DNFing ARCs unless they're really not working for me, I would have DNFed before page 200.
As a side note: the original publication of this book was pushed back by nearly two years due to representations of some Muslim cultures of North Africa that were found to be Islamophobic. While I believe most of the passages in question have been removed, the overall reviews of this book still published on Goodreads do show record of this. The original passage is still available online on Gizmodo. As this is an ARC, I am unable to quote for specifics.
Conceptually, a story about a Viking and an African warrior becoming friends is super interesting! But I find the execution to be lackluster and I found myself wondering at some of the historical representations of characters and cultural events. I did not become particularly attached to any of the characters and couldn't always keep it straight between the three narrators.
At less than 500 pages, this book had no right to feel as long as it did. But it was such a slog for me to get through! By about the 60% mark I found myself skimming to the end. It did pick up my attention again around the last 40 or so pages but by then it was too late. There's also a little "this story picks up again in the sequel!" tease on the last page of my ARC but I was like, "Absolutely not." So I don't think these authors will be ones I revisit any time soon.
If I wasn't so opposed to DNFing ARCs unless they're really not working for me, I would have DNFed before page 200.
As a side note: the original publication of this book was pushed back by nearly two years due to representations of some Muslim cultures of North Africa that were found to be Islamophobic. While I believe most of the passages in question have been removed, the overall reviews of this book still published on Goodreads do show record of this. The original passage is still available online on Gizmodo. As this is an ARC, I am unable to quote for specifics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Death, Murder, Infertility, Child death, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Confinement, Sexual content, and War
Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Racism
Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo, Ren Graham
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Blood, Bullying, and Animal death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Sounds Like a Plan by Pamela Samuels Young, Dwayne Alexander Smith
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- 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
2.25
I received an ARC of this book for free via Goodreads giveaway. This has in no way impacted my review.
CW: gun violence, kidnapping, blood, (minor) ableism
Dual author books are a double edged sword. On one hand, it's almost automatic that the characters will have distinct voices, especially when alternating narration chapters like <i>Sounds Like a Plan</i> does. On the other, if the reader prefers one voice over another, it can sometimes become a slog, knowing a character you don't like is up next.
I was down with Mackenzie! Jackson.... not so much? I didn't like the way he thought about women, especially Mackenzie, in such sexual terms. He also made some comments about Black women in general that I personally found distasteful, but cannot necessarily speak on, not being Black.
(The unfortunate part about an ARC here is that I can't quote line and page, though I do have some specific ones that I found particularly offensive.)
There also was a "joke" about two characters being on the Autism spectrum, which is not the vibe.
I DID find the idea of the ultimate antagonist being just a really mean lesbian very funny lol. That is one thing I can speak on and it was NOT done delicately, but it was low key hilarious, so I'll let it slide.
Overall, fun, not very deep, and the set up to a series. I can see this appealing to a lot of people, even if I wasn't one of them.
CW: gun violence, kidnapping, blood, (minor) ableism
Dual author books are a double edged sword. On one hand, it's almost automatic that the characters will have distinct voices, especially when alternating narration chapters like <i>Sounds Like a Plan</i> does. On the other, if the reader prefers one voice over another, it can sometimes become a slog, knowing a character you don't like is up next.
I was down with Mackenzie! Jackson.... not so much? I didn't like the way he thought about women, especially Mackenzie, in such sexual terms. He also made some comments about Black women in general that I personally found distasteful, but cannot necessarily speak on, not being Black.
(The unfortunate part about an ARC here is that I can't quote line and page, though I do have some specific ones that I found particularly offensive.)
There also was a "joke" about two characters being on the Autism spectrum, which is not the vibe.
Overall, fun, not very deep, and the set up to a series. I can see this appealing to a lot of people, even if I wasn't one of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexism, and Ableism
Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Child death, Classism, Murder, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Torture, and Confinement