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sauvageloup's reviews
526 reviews
Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
very good, very gripping. plot is a little complex so will be worth a reread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Grief
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two by John Tiffany, J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
firstly, fuck J.K.
but the play wasn't bad at all, I did like Scorpius and Albus a lot and the story and characters carries you over some awkward writing
pros:
- by virtue of it being a script, it's quick to read, punchy and gripping. the plot whisks along.
- it went darker than I expected and I liked that, it wasn't afraid to shy away from the dark stuff explored in the OG canon, and even go darker with the world that could've been
- I've read scorpius and Albus fanfic for a while so it was cool to see where aspects of fanon had come from
- delphi made a great villain and was unexpected but interesting
cons:
- the impact on Albus of being Harry's son still wasn't entirely explored and could've been more addressed. their relationship was better, but there was still real pain for Albus in being different
- i liked Harry and draco's new friendship but it was a bit of a fast turnaround
- Harry was just generally dislikable tbh and ginny was unremarkable, as she was in the books imo. the kids definitely stole the show.
- there could've been more of Harry still healing from the trauma, but what was there was pretty good.
overall, i did like it a lot. shame (one of) the author(s) is a pile of shit.
but the play wasn't bad at all, I did like Scorpius and Albus a lot and the story and characters carries you over some awkward writing
pros:
- by virtue of it being a script, it's quick to read, punchy and gripping. the plot whisks along.
- it went darker than I expected and I liked that, it wasn't afraid to shy away from the dark stuff explored in the OG canon, and even go darker with the world that could've been
- I've read scorpius and Albus fanfic for a while so it was cool to see where aspects of fanon had come from
cons:
- the impact on Albus of being Harry's son still wasn't entirely explored and could've been more addressed. their relationship was better, but there was still real pain for Albus in being different
- i liked Harry and draco's new friendship but it was a bit of a fast turnaround
- Harry was just generally dislikable tbh and ginny was unremarkable, as she was in the books imo. the kids definitely stole the show.
- there could've been more of Harry still healing from the trauma, but what was there was pretty good.
overall, i did like it a lot. shame (one of) the author(s) is a pile of shit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
themes of being rejected by your parent are strong
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
4.5
a brilliant book that i got through slowly, but through no fault of its own, i think
pros:
- stunning, lyrical, fairytale writing. simple style but really lovely in originality of description and poignant turns of phrase. the story is carried along beautifully, smoothing over time skips.
- the character development was also so good, with Konstantin descending into worse evils, Anna's rise and fall, Vasya growing into her strength while still being fallible, and my favourite, Morozko, of sleep and death. he was cold but fair, human but other, real and not, and i just loved how Arden wrote him.
- i also enjoyed the setting so much, and the historical details too. the afternotes show how much effort Arden put into historical accuracy.
cons:
- maybe a bit slow, which didn't help my lack of reading focus
looking forward to reading book 2, and glad i won't have to leave the characters :)
pros:
- stunning, lyrical, fairytale writing. simple style but really lovely in originality of description and poignant turns of phrase. the story is carried along beautifully, smoothing over time skips.
- the character development was also so good, with Konstantin descending into worse evils, Anna's rise and fall, Vasya growing into her strength while still being fallible, and my favourite, Morozko, of sleep and death. he was cold but fair, human but other, real and not, and i just loved how Arden wrote him.
- i also enjoyed the setting so much, and the historical details too. the afternotes show how much effort Arden put into historical accuracy.
cons:
- maybe a bit slow, which didn't help my lack of reading focus
looking forward to reading book 2, and glad i won't have to leave the characters :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault
warning for eating disorder is really for starvation and struggling to get enough to eat, descriptions of extreme weight loss.
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.0
lovely read!
pros:
- what felt exceptional about this one was the emotional journey between Hani and Ishu and how well written it was. There was a lot of communicating needed to make it work and emotional growth and it was explored really well.
- the characters of Ishu and Hani were different but still compatible, even as they wondered whether they weren't. They felt like real people with their flaws and insecurities, with Ishu pushing others away and Hani struggling with confrontation. the way they both grew as people was great to read.
- Aisling and Dee's characters were well pulled off too, a kind of insidious, manipulative toxic friend that really gets Hani down. it's clear to the reader but easy to sympathise with Hani.
- the inclusion of their very different parents, and Ishu repairing her relationship with her sister, was nice to see too, as some YA just have the characters in a vacuum.
- reading about South Asian and Muslim culture was brilliant too and not often seen at all in books, esp YA romance, so that was fascinating from an outsider's POV.
cons:
- the writing styles for the two different characters were identical and despite being two very different people, I struggled to tell who was speaking sometimes and forgot.
thats the only drawback I could think of! enjoyed the book a lot :)
pros:
- what felt exceptional about this one was the emotional journey between Hani and Ishu and how well written it was. There was a lot of communicating needed to make it work and emotional growth and it was explored really well.
- the characters of Ishu and Hani were different but still compatible, even as they wondered whether they weren't. They felt like real people with their flaws and insecurities, with Ishu pushing others away and Hani struggling with confrontation. the way they both grew as people was great to read.
- Aisling and Dee's characters were well pulled off too, a kind of insidious, manipulative toxic friend that really gets Hani down. it's clear to the reader but easy to sympathise with Hani.
- the inclusion of their very different parents, and Ishu repairing her relationship with her sister, was nice to see too, as some YA just have the characters in a vacuum.
- reading about South Asian and Muslim culture was brilliant too and not often seen at all in books, esp YA romance, so that was fascinating from an outsider's POV.
cons:
- the writing styles for the two different characters were identical and despite being two very different people, I struggled to tell who was speaking sometimes and forgot.
thats the only drawback I could think of! enjoyed the book a lot :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
The Butterfly Assassin by Finn Longman
challenging
dark
sad
tense
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
3.5
well overall it kept me reading, so that's a success!
pros:
- the writing is good, tight and punchy, and keeps the story flowing. I didn't anticipate Michael being a double agent, though it made a lot of sense.
- I liked the use of Esperanto a lot, it's really interesting to read and see how it relates to English, and I hadn't heard of it before Longman talked about it because of this book. The city of Espere is also rly cool and I enjoyed reading the author notes about it all, and the research Longman did. I'm honestly not surprised the UK is still meeting to trade weapons - compared to America, we seem good in terms of guns and violence, but we've got an awful, bloody history and we still supply a lot of weapons, its shitty.
- I do think I liked the early set of the book best, and I like the worldbuilding with Comma and Hummingbird. I didn't quite feel we got to know everything about the Guilds and why they are as they are, but I'm mightily intrigued to know more.
- I also liked how the range of characters (the names were handled well, so I didn't get confused even though there was a lot of them) showed all the different possible responses to the situation. Toni's reluctant compliance and private defiance, Darragh's compliance to an extent, Michael caving and being consumed by them but wounded by it, Mortimer's quiet and unobtrusive disagreement, Emma's youthful and innocent idealism, etc. All of the characters showed a different path within the world and it's cool to see that when Isabel is bouncing between them, unable to commit to any of them.
- I liked Mortimer and Michael especially. Mortimer's suspicions at the start, and how they morph into fierce desire to help, and how he puts Isabel first when no-one else does (not even Emma, because she has her own shit going on). Michael is completely different but also fascinating, with him first seeming so cowardly but growing into what seems like a friend, and then flipping completely into a villain. and then at the end, he's just sad, and suicidal in visiting Isabel. honestly his death was the one I felt saddest at, because he could've had a neat redemption arc.
cons:
- sometimes the writing went on too long and felt gratuitous in its descriptions of despair. The book sagged a bit in the middle for me, because there wasn't a lot of plot except for 'Isabel is poisoned and dying', and it didn't pick up again till a bit later. I did guess early on that Emma was gonna die and honestly I didn't really care. And neither did I about Grace. I just felt I wasn't given enough to love them, Grace we barely knew and Emma was too goody-two-shoes and a bit 2D for me
- Isabel's murdery-ness didn't seem too realistic to me. She was fretting over emotions and bonding easily to people, and then just killed the kid and Nick (who's never brought up again, pretty much). Michael hasn't done half as much shit as her and yet she wipes him out. I know it probably shows that being a survivor is selfish and her ability to compartmentalise and her trauma, but it just didn't feel coherant, like there was a real reason she was doing it. Her character felt too... flyaway? inexplicable? unbelievable? I don't know, but I didn't really care much for her.
overall! a good, quick read to get me through a long journey and it was addictive reading and had some interesting world building. But it did drag for me in the middle and didn't evoke much in the way of emotions.
pros:
- the writing is good, tight and punchy, and keeps the story flowing.
- I liked the use of Esperanto a lot, it's really interesting to read and see how it relates to English, and I hadn't heard of it before Longman talked about it because of this book. The city of Espere is also rly cool and I enjoyed reading the author notes about it all, and the research Longman did. I'm honestly not surprised the UK is still meeting to trade weapons - compared to America, we seem good in terms of guns and violence, but we've got an awful, bloody history and we still supply a lot of weapons, its shitty.
- I do think I liked the early set of the book best, and I like the worldbuilding with Comma and Hummingbird. I didn't quite feel we got to know everything about the Guilds and why they are as they are, but I'm mightily intrigued to know more.
- I also liked how the range of characters (the names were handled well, so I didn't get confused even though there was a lot of them) showed all the different possible responses to the situation. Toni's reluctant compliance and private defiance, Darragh's compliance to an extent, Michael caving and being consumed by them but wounded by it, Mortimer's quiet and unobtrusive disagreement, Emma's youthful and innocent idealism, etc. All of the characters showed a different path within the world and it's cool to see that when Isabel is bouncing between them, unable to commit to any of them.
- I liked Mortimer and Michael especially. Mortimer's suspicions at the start, and how they morph into fierce desire to help, and how he puts Isabel first when no-one else does (not even Emma, because she has her own shit going on). Michael is completely different but also fascinating, with him first seeming so cowardly but growing into what seems like a friend, and then flipping completely into a villain. and then at the end, he's just sad, and suicidal in visiting Isabel. honestly his death was the one I felt saddest at, because he could've had a neat redemption arc.
cons:
- sometimes the writing went on too long and felt gratuitous in its descriptions of despair. The book sagged a bit in the middle for me, because there wasn't a lot of plot except for 'Isabel is poisoned and dying', and it didn't pick up again till a bit later.
- Isabel's murdery-ness didn't seem too realistic to me. She was fretting over emotions and bonding easily to people, and then just killed the kid and Nick (who's never brought up again, pretty much). Michael hasn't done half as much shit as her and yet she wipes him out. I know it probably shows that being a survivor is selfish and her ability to compartmentalise and her trauma, but it just didn't feel coherant, like there was a real reason she was doing it. Her character felt too... flyaway? inexplicable? unbelievable? I don't know, but I didn't really care much for her.
overall! a good, quick read to get me through a long journey and it was addictive reading and had some interesting world building. But it did drag for me in the middle and didn't evoke much in the way of emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Book of Night by Holly Black
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
SO GOOD! Wish i hadn't tried to rush quite so much because of the event and savored it a bit more but still loved it
pros:
- the magic!!! i haven't read a book (that i remember) with shadow magic in it and i loved the whole thing. the alterationists, quickened shadows, the way the magic became known to the general public through the internet, etc. all of it :D
- Charlie. She's such a mess but she never really means badly by it and I loved how there's the reveal at the end how's she's been holding herself back because she's been afraid of what happens when she really tries. Her nickname of the Charlatan, her past with Rand, her really grey morality but still being loyal and good at heart, as well as her proud sexuality and her relationship with Vince - she doesn't realise how much she likes him and they've kept so many secrets, and yet they're both totally dedicated to the other and i loved that :)
- all the other characters!! Vince was amazing and I didn't guess at all that he was Edmund's shadow, which i should've really, but i'm so glad Charlie wasn't that fussed about it and i loved Posey, with her determination to be a gloamist. she was a mess too and making some questionable decisions, but she comes through for Charlie and i liked that she got some healing at the end too.
- the ending was bittersweet but in kind of a perfect way. I liked the possibility of Vince/Red getting his memory back and that Charlie wasn't gonna quit on him.
- Salt was such a good villain too, and Charlie's horror story past of meeting him first was so well done and creepy, because she was so young and relatively defenseless then, but still managed to keep her wits. she's such a survivor :)
- i definitely felt the similarity between BoN and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. There's no dark academia, but the main characters are both 'not on their first mistake, but maybe their last' (as Black put it), a bit older, survivors and smart but jaded and making bad mistakes. there were strong resonances in the magic too, even though it's entirely different, there's the same wild danger of it and not quite knowing how it actually works or how the magic arises/the shadow is quickened. And there was a similar complex, mystery-based plot where both had too many names and was a bit confusing. but i loved both books all the same, and that type of tired-but-fierce female MC who is holding onto life with her teeth is the best :))
cons:
- there's a lot of names. i definitely got lost. Malik and Mahir i muddled up, i forgot who Paul Ecco and Adam and a bunch of the others, as well as small clues like the magnet Charlie found. i did rush through a bit, but it was still pretty complicated
- i did also find that Charlie's chaos kind of spilled into the plot? so i got lost a bit about how much time this was all taking, and the clues/plots/twists and turns felt very haphazard, according to just when the thought showed up in Charlie's mind. it definitely felt organic, but maybe a bit too much so
- also i'm not quite sure what was hinted at with Vince and Adelaine? did she have a relationship with Red? or Vince? or did she hurt Red when Vince wasn't there? idk
But overall, adored it and can't wait for book 2 :D
pros:
- the magic!!! i haven't read a book (that i remember) with shadow magic in it and i loved the whole thing. the alterationists, quickened shadows, the way the magic became known to the general public through the internet, etc. all of it :D
- Charlie. She's such a mess but she never really means badly by it and I loved how there's the reveal at the end how's she's been holding herself back because she's been afraid of what happens when she really tries. Her nickname of the Charlatan, her past with Rand, her really grey morality but still being loyal and good at heart, as well as her proud sexuality and her relationship with Vince - she doesn't realise how much she likes him and they've kept so many secrets, and yet they're both totally dedicated to the other and i loved that :)
- all the other characters!! Vince was amazing
- Salt was such a good villain too, and Charlie's horror story past of meeting him first was so well done and creepy, because she was so young and relatively defenseless then, but still managed to keep her wits. she's such a survivor :)
- i definitely felt the similarity between BoN and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. There's no dark academia, but the main characters are both 'not on their first mistake, but maybe their last' (as Black put it), a bit older, survivors and smart but jaded and making bad mistakes. there were strong resonances in the magic too, even though it's entirely different, there's the same wild danger of it and not quite knowing how it actually works or how the magic arises/the shadow is quickened. And there was a similar complex, mystery-based plot where both had too many names and was a bit confusing. but i loved both books all the same, and that type of tired-but-fierce female MC who is holding onto life with her teeth is the best :))
cons:
- there's a lot of names. i definitely got lost. Malik and Mahir i muddled up, i forgot who Paul Ecco and Adam and a bunch of the others, as well as small clues like the magnet Charlie found. i did rush through a bit, but it was still pretty complicated
- i did also find that Charlie's chaos kind of spilled into the plot? so i got lost a bit about how much time this was all taking, and the clues/plots/twists and turns felt very haphazard, according to just when the thought showed up in Charlie's mind. it definitely felt organic, but maybe a bit too much so
But overall, adored it and can't wait for book 2 :D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Incest, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
the self harm is only explicitly for finger pricks for blood, but there's a lot of bad, self-sabotaging decisions
Arya Winters and the Tiramisu of Death by Amita Murray
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
overall, a fun, original novel that got me out of my reading slump
pros:
- i liked the disability and mental illness rep. I initially thought Arya had autism, but other reviewers had said its a combination of social anxiety and Tourettes, which does make more sense. Either way, she was a very interesting character and i liked her a lot.
- i liked the openess about sex and Arya being frank about. That Tobias is kinky and yet still framed as a very likeable character is unfortunately unusual, but very welcome.
- the writing itself was a lot of fun. very stream of consciousness, for better or worse. it's a bit David Copperfield at the start, but funny enough that it doesn't matter.
cons:
- whilst the book openly embraces Arya being forthright about her sexuality, there are moments of slut-shaming towards others, which was weird, and also Craig is repeatedly shamed for having a low libido. Yes, he's a self-centred, boring jerk, but saying that he doesn't like sex as a means of *explaining* why he's boring is lazy and hurtful. He's not unhappy with his low libido and while he and Arya were a bad match, there's nothing wrong with him not being very interested in sex.
- while the writing was entertaining, i did get tired of all the 'accidental, convinient meet-ups', clues dropping into Arya's lap, and somewhat disjointed connections between scenes. Also, i thought the book could very easily been a standalone and might have been better as one, as the ending was extremely abrupt and didn't fit very well with Arya's character arc.
overall, i liked Arya a lot and enjoyed this, and when i wasn't reading it, i wished that i was. however idk if i'll go to the expense of buying the second.
pros:
- i liked the disability and mental illness rep. I initially thought Arya had autism, but other reviewers had said its a combination of social anxiety and Tourettes, which does make more sense. Either way, she was a very interesting character and i liked her a lot.
- i liked the openess about sex and Arya being frank about. That Tobias is kinky and yet still framed as a very likeable character is unfortunately unusual, but very welcome.
- the writing itself was a lot of fun. very stream of consciousness, for better or worse. it's a bit David Copperfield at the start, but funny enough that it doesn't matter.
cons:
- whilst the book openly embraces Arya being forthright about her sexuality, there are moments of slut-shaming towards others, which was weird, and also Craig is repeatedly shamed for having a low libido. Yes, he's a self-centred, boring jerk, but saying that he doesn't like sex as a means of *explaining* why he's boring is lazy and hurtful. He's not unhappy with his low libido and while he and Arya were a bad match, there's nothing wrong with him not being very interested in sex.
- while the writing was entertaining, i did get tired of all the 'accidental, convinient meet-ups', clues dropping into Arya's lap, and somewhat disjointed connections between scenes. Also, i thought the book could very easily been a standalone and might have been better as one, as the ending was extremely abrupt and didn't fit very well with Arya's character arc.
overall, i liked Arya a lot and enjoyed this, and when i wasn't reading it, i wished that i was. however idk if i'll go to the expense of buying the second.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia
Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, and Stalking
Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
gave me a lot of emotions <3
(i don't really get why people say these comics are fluffy, they're really not.)
(i don't really get why people say these comics are fluffy, they're really not.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Homophobia and Self harm
Druids: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Cunliffe
challenging
informative
3.0
some very good info in there, but flawed too
pros:
- a lot of fascinating information, particularly about archaeological information, rituals and gods. There was a fair bit that I didn't already know, and i enjoyed learning about the coursewayed enclosures and similar barrows, tombs and cursus especially. Also finding out what nemeton meant after reading it in a book (The Wren Hunt)
- seeing bits and pieces I did know, from reading the Mabinogi and learning about horses and ritual sacrifice, was cool
- the writing style was direct and clear, using technical language when needed but not being deliberately obscure for the sake of it. the summaries at the end of each chapter were useful
cons:
- main gripe is the lack of actual information about druids! loads of space was dedicated to the Romans and other parts of early history, rather than the actual druids. The parts that went into minute detail about a bunch of Roman authors were particularly trying and irrelevant. Making the point that clear information on the Druids is difficult to obtain without bias or historical distortion is one thing; going name by name through every single Roman who ever mentioned a Druid is quite another.
- There was some repetition between the first chapter (the intro) and the rest. I get that you need to give a summary at the start of what will be covered, but directly lifting and dropping paragraphs was a bit annoying
- for what is advertised as 'A very short introduction', this went into WAY too much depth about the *origins* of the information we have on druids, rather than the actual information, which was my main grievance.
- the extremely negative mentions of modern Druids and neopaganism in the introduction definitely put my back up, because it seemed so snobby and unneeded. Conliffe did redeem himself with a more magnanimous representation of modern Druids in the penultimate chapter, at least.
Overall, an interesting read but not as good as it could've been.
informational notes:
- p.18, physical data reflecting behavior, ie. burial rites, depositions, 'ritual' structures and iconography.
- p.19, balancing the opposites of sky and earth
- p. 19, examples of grave goods: red deer antler, shell beads and red ochre. near stonehenge: bronze daggers, axe, sceptre, gold ornaments, amber necklace.
- p.19, the process of death, which is a liminal period between the last breath being taken and when the spirit is at rest or departed. First placed in view as a 'visible assurance that the death has occured and it may be the focus of offerings, relatives providing gifts to the corpse, thus demonstrating to others the strength and power of the lineage'. p.32, a burial from the 1st century AD had the body removed and cremated, grave goods smashed and tomb filled in.
- p.20, multiple burials of a whole lineage occurred, 'the body of the newly deceased was placed in the main passage until such a time that another person died, where the remains of the earlier body were cleared away into a side chamber to make space for the new arrival.' the barrow was eventually closed with a large stone over the entrance.
- p.21, in the middle of the 2nd millennium, cremation began to replace inhumation. there's the same balance of sky and ground gods, though. previously: inhumation for select few (chthonic gods) and excarnation for the rest (sky gods). later: cremation (sky gods) followed by burying the ashes in an urn (chthonic gods)
- p.22, their tombs and monuments built in the 3rd and 4th milinium were timed exactly to the sun. 'the great passage tomb of New Grange in the Boyne Valley of Ireland was carefully aligned so that at dawn on the day of the midwinter solstice the rays of the rising sun would shine through a slot in the roof and along the passage to light up a triple spiral carved on an orthostat set at the back of the central chamber'. p.23, Stonehenge is aligned to 'respect the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset'. p.59, These careful alignments required knowledge of the calender and astronomy, which was the Druids' job
- p.24, in the 2nd and 3rd milinium, pits were dug for deliberate deposition of artefacts and animal bones. 'The interpretation frequently put forward is that these structures represent offerings placed in the earth to propitiate the chthonic deities'
- p.25, far more depositions from the late 2nd milinium, with hoards of specially made bronze implements, high in lead so they couldn't have been used. this increase might've been because of the increase in agriculture, so needed more help from the gods. p.34, these hoards 'lie within an 8-hectate enclosure...some decades after the deposition of the hoards... dug to define the boundary of the territory known, in the local memory, to have been sacred to the gods'. Human and godly boundaries between our world and theirs including ditches, water, earth, enclosures, etc.
- p.26, depositions were left inside old corn storage pits. p.40, 'in the case of shafts used as wells, the deposition of offerings is most likely associated with rites of closure'. p.134, this begins when 'the community had now, at last, imposed itself on the land rather than being subsurvient to it'.
- p.26, artefacts also thrown into rivers, springs and bogs, because water is a 'liminal space through which it was possible for our world to communicate with the world below'. p.33, increase in rivers and bog depositions in the century before the Roman invasion
- p.27, man-made spaces for worship including causewayed (raised banks) enclosures, cursus (ditch or trench) monuments, and henges. 'all three were forms of enclosure, their limits defined by ditches which bounded an area, separating it from the world outside'
- p.36, importance of skulls/heads in rituals and ceremony. 'Clearly the head was percieved to be a special body part, perhaps one that contained the power of the deceased'.
- p.36, ritual killing of Lindow man, body found in a bog in Cheshire, who had 'been hit violently on the head, had been garrotted, and had had his throat cut before being placed in the bog'. p.69, a sacrifice described by Diodorus: 'stab him with a dagger in the region above the diaphragm, and when he has fallen they foretell the future from his fall and the convulsions of his limbs and...the spurting of blood'. p.71, the druids didn't run the sacrifices but they were the officiates and weren't innocent.
- p.38, focus on a 'temenos' (a piece of land cut off and dedicated to the gods)
- p.41, at a spring at the source of the Seine, a number of figurines were found, 'some wearing hooded cloaks, heads, trunks, limbs, hands and feet... models of sexual organs, breats, and eyes...evidently to provide the goddess, Sequana, with an unambiguous indiction on which part of their anatomy she was to concentrate her curative or rejuvenating powers'.
- p.42, statues with leaf crowns behind the head found in France, which may have indicated status in some way.
- (p.49 summary of archaeological finds)
- p.57, different types of powerful men within the Celts: Bards (singers and poets), Vates (augurs) and Druids (occupied with justice and philosophy). these categories became more blended as time went on. p.69, irish texts call them 'baird, filidh and druidh'. The Vates could 'foretell the future through augury and whose duties included carrying out the sacrifices...The Druids...were the philosphers and intermediaries between man and the gods, as well as being the ultimate justices and being skilled in the 'science of nature'.
- p.59, 60, Druids' mistletoe ritual described by Pliny: sacredness of mistletoe, especially when grown on the oak. Ritual preferably on the 6th day of the moon. Other curative herbs; selago (sabine) wards off evil and cures eye diseases, Samolos (marsh plant) protects cattle from disease.
- p.65, in 106BC, romans sacked a Celtic temple, looting gold and silver from the lakes which were ritual deposits.
- p.77, druids' power to excommunicate anyone who doesn't acquiesce to their ruling, 'no-one will go near or speak to them for fear of being contaminated in some way'
- p.79, annual druid meeting on sacred ground where 'People who have disputes to settle assemble there from all over the country and accept the judgements and rulings of the Druids'. p.94, Ireland had a similar idea in Uisech, the 'navel' of Ireland.
- p.83, sinister poem 'Pharsalia' written by Lucan in the first century AD talking about the Druids' bloody altar
- p.88, pre-Christian Irish gods: 'to begin with, the gods were many and everywhere, much as they were in pre-Roman Gaul... it was believed they were controlled by the Tribes of the Goddess Dana, but later they comprised a loose web of supernatural beings usually inhabiting the underground regions but entering the realms of the humans from time to time. They had many attributes and were visualized in many forms, but these different manifestations could be reduced to two powers, on e male, one female, whose balanced opposition created a state of unstable equilibrium.' (goes on to talk of the female goddess - the Morrígan in her dangerous form - and the male, Dagda, with Lug being Dagda's purer other half.
- p.90, festivals: the light half of the year runs from Beltane (1st May) to Samain (1st Nov), and the dark half from Samain to Beltane. those then split into Imbolc (1st Feb) and Lugnasad (1st August). On Beltane, tradition of driving cattle between two fires to purify them. p.91, Samain was a dangerous time as it was the end of one year and a liminal time. It was when the union between the Dagda and the Morrígan took place so 'chaos could reign as the spirits and deities of the nether-world below swarmed into the world of humans'
- p.91, the nemeton is a sacred place, and yet incorportates the world 'nemed', which meant the privileged classes of the king, the lord, the cleric and the poet.
- p.92, 'Druids were involved in setting the prohibitions (geasa) which controlled the freedoms of the king. A geis was an imperative of magical character which circumscribed behaviour, ie. eating horse meat. p.94, Druids also had the power to 'erect barriers (whether real or virtual is unclear) beyond which anyone who ventured would be killed, and a Druid still had the power to make the weaker side win' in a war. p.97, poets similarly had magical powers and their words could 'raise blisters on the face of an opponent and even had the power to kill'
- p.98, kingship ceremony involving killing a white mare and bathing in the broth - representative of 'the king-to-be to have intercourse... with the mother goddess'
- p.132, summary of druids
pros:
- a lot of fascinating information, particularly about archaeological information, rituals and gods. There was a fair bit that I didn't already know, and i enjoyed learning about the coursewayed enclosures and similar barrows, tombs and cursus especially. Also finding out what nemeton meant after reading it in a book (The Wren Hunt)
- seeing bits and pieces I did know, from reading the Mabinogi and learning about horses and ritual sacrifice, was cool
- the writing style was direct and clear, using technical language when needed but not being deliberately obscure for the sake of it. the summaries at the end of each chapter were useful
cons:
- main gripe is the lack of actual information about druids! loads of space was dedicated to the Romans and other parts of early history, rather than the actual druids. The parts that went into minute detail about a bunch of Roman authors were particularly trying and irrelevant. Making the point that clear information on the Druids is difficult to obtain without bias or historical distortion is one thing; going name by name through every single Roman who ever mentioned a Druid is quite another.
- There was some repetition between the first chapter (the intro) and the rest. I get that you need to give a summary at the start of what will be covered, but directly lifting and dropping paragraphs was a bit annoying
- for what is advertised as 'A very short introduction', this went into WAY too much depth about the *origins* of the information we have on druids, rather than the actual information, which was my main grievance.
- the extremely negative mentions of modern Druids and neopaganism in the introduction definitely put my back up, because it seemed so snobby and unneeded. Conliffe did redeem himself with a more magnanimous representation of modern Druids in the penultimate chapter, at least.
Overall, an interesting read but not as good as it could've been.
informational notes:
- p.18, physical data reflecting behavior, ie. burial rites, depositions, 'ritual' structures and iconography.
- p.19, balancing the opposites of sky and earth
- p. 19, examples of grave goods: red deer antler, shell beads and red ochre. near stonehenge: bronze daggers, axe, sceptre, gold ornaments, amber necklace.
- p.19, the process of death, which is a liminal period between the last breath being taken and when the spirit is at rest or departed. First placed in view as a 'visible assurance that the death has occured and it may be the focus of offerings, relatives providing gifts to the corpse, thus demonstrating to others the strength and power of the lineage'. p.32, a burial from the 1st century AD had the body removed and cremated, grave goods smashed and tomb filled in.
- p.20, multiple burials of a whole lineage occurred, 'the body of the newly deceased was placed in the main passage until such a time that another person died, where the remains of the earlier body were cleared away into a side chamber to make space for the new arrival.' the barrow was eventually closed with a large stone over the entrance.
- p.21, in the middle of the 2nd millennium, cremation began to replace inhumation. there's the same balance of sky and ground gods, though. previously: inhumation for select few (chthonic gods) and excarnation for the rest (sky gods). later: cremation (sky gods) followed by burying the ashes in an urn (chthonic gods)
- p.22, their tombs and monuments built in the 3rd and 4th milinium were timed exactly to the sun. 'the great passage tomb of New Grange in the Boyne Valley of Ireland was carefully aligned so that at dawn on the day of the midwinter solstice the rays of the rising sun would shine through a slot in the roof and along the passage to light up a triple spiral carved on an orthostat set at the back of the central chamber'. p.23, Stonehenge is aligned to 'respect the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset'. p.59, These careful alignments required knowledge of the calender and astronomy, which was the Druids' job
- p.24, in the 2nd and 3rd milinium, pits were dug for deliberate deposition of artefacts and animal bones. 'The interpretation frequently put forward is that these structures represent offerings placed in the earth to propitiate the chthonic deities'
- p.25, far more depositions from the late 2nd milinium, with hoards of specially made bronze implements, high in lead so they couldn't have been used. this increase might've been because of the increase in agriculture, so needed more help from the gods. p.34, these hoards 'lie within an 8-hectate enclosure...some decades after the deposition of the hoards... dug to define the boundary of the territory known, in the local memory, to have been sacred to the gods'. Human and godly boundaries between our world and theirs including ditches, water, earth, enclosures, etc.
- p.26, depositions were left inside old corn storage pits. p.40, 'in the case of shafts used as wells, the deposition of offerings is most likely associated with rites of closure'. p.134, this begins when 'the community had now, at last, imposed itself on the land rather than being subsurvient to it'.
- p.26, artefacts also thrown into rivers, springs and bogs, because water is a 'liminal space through which it was possible for our world to communicate with the world below'. p.33, increase in rivers and bog depositions in the century before the Roman invasion
- p.27, man-made spaces for worship including causewayed (raised banks) enclosures, cursus (ditch or trench) monuments, and henges. 'all three were forms of enclosure, their limits defined by ditches which bounded an area, separating it from the world outside'
- p.36, importance of skulls/heads in rituals and ceremony. 'Clearly the head was percieved to be a special body part, perhaps one that contained the power of the deceased'.
- p.36, ritual killing of Lindow man, body found in a bog in Cheshire, who had 'been hit violently on the head, had been garrotted, and had had his throat cut before being placed in the bog'. p.69, a sacrifice described by Diodorus: 'stab him with a dagger in the region above the diaphragm, and when he has fallen they foretell the future from his fall and the convulsions of his limbs and...the spurting of blood'. p.71, the druids didn't run the sacrifices but they were the officiates and weren't innocent.
- p.38, focus on a 'temenos' (a piece of land cut off and dedicated to the gods)
- p.41, at a spring at the source of the Seine, a number of figurines were found, 'some wearing hooded cloaks, heads, trunks, limbs, hands and feet... models of sexual organs, breats, and eyes...evidently to provide the goddess, Sequana, with an unambiguous indiction on which part of their anatomy she was to concentrate her curative or rejuvenating powers'.
- p.42, statues with leaf crowns behind the head found in France, which may have indicated status in some way.
- (p.49 summary of archaeological finds)
- p.57, different types of powerful men within the Celts: Bards (singers and poets), Vates (augurs) and Druids (occupied with justice and philosophy). these categories became more blended as time went on. p.69, irish texts call them 'baird, filidh and druidh'. The Vates could 'foretell the future through augury and whose duties included carrying out the sacrifices...The Druids...were the philosphers and intermediaries between man and the gods, as well as being the ultimate justices and being skilled in the 'science of nature'.
- p.59, 60, Druids' mistletoe ritual described by Pliny: sacredness of mistletoe, especially when grown on the oak. Ritual preferably on the 6th day of the moon. Other curative herbs; selago (sabine) wards off evil and cures eye diseases, Samolos (marsh plant) protects cattle from disease.
- p.65, in 106BC, romans sacked a Celtic temple, looting gold and silver from the lakes which were ritual deposits.
- p.77, druids' power to excommunicate anyone who doesn't acquiesce to their ruling, 'no-one will go near or speak to them for fear of being contaminated in some way'
- p.79, annual druid meeting on sacred ground where 'People who have disputes to settle assemble there from all over the country and accept the judgements and rulings of the Druids'. p.94, Ireland had a similar idea in Uisech, the 'navel' of Ireland.
- p.83, sinister poem 'Pharsalia' written by Lucan in the first century AD talking about the Druids' bloody altar
- p.88, pre-Christian Irish gods: 'to begin with, the gods were many and everywhere, much as they were in pre-Roman Gaul... it was believed they were controlled by the Tribes of the Goddess Dana, but later they comprised a loose web of supernatural beings usually inhabiting the underground regions but entering the realms of the humans from time to time. They had many attributes and were visualized in many forms, but these different manifestations could be reduced to two powers, on e male, one female, whose balanced opposition created a state of unstable equilibrium.' (goes on to talk of the female goddess - the Morrígan in her dangerous form - and the male, Dagda, with Lug being Dagda's purer other half.
- p.90, festivals: the light half of the year runs from Beltane (1st May) to Samain (1st Nov), and the dark half from Samain to Beltane. those then split into Imbolc (1st Feb) and Lugnasad (1st August). On Beltane, tradition of driving cattle between two fires to purify them. p.91, Samain was a dangerous time as it was the end of one year and a liminal time. It was when the union between the Dagda and the Morrígan took place so 'chaos could reign as the spirits and deities of the nether-world below swarmed into the world of humans'
- p.91, the nemeton is a sacred place, and yet incorportates the world 'nemed', which meant the privileged classes of the king, the lord, the cleric and the poet.
- p.92, 'Druids were involved in setting the prohibitions (geasa) which controlled the freedoms of the king. A geis was an imperative of magical character which circumscribed behaviour, ie. eating horse meat. p.94, Druids also had the power to 'erect barriers (whether real or virtual is unclear) beyond which anyone who ventured would be killed, and a Druid still had the power to make the weaker side win' in a war. p.97, poets similarly had magical powers and their words could 'raise blisters on the face of an opponent and even had the power to kill'
- p.98, kingship ceremony involving killing a white mare and bathing in the broth - representative of 'the king-to-be to have intercourse... with the mother goddess'
- p.132, summary of druids
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
explicit discussion of human sacrifice, including images of bog bodies and skeletons.
David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
an absolute slam-dunk of a book, for sure i will be rereading
pros:
- i'll start with the brilliant setting and how completely grounded the book is in Lagos' every back street and cross-roads, it's past and mythology, it's politics and its languages. Having a demi-god hunting godlings in Nigeria is such a perfect set up, and I loved the Lagos-ness of all of it. I've never been to any part of Nigeria, but I feel like Lagos is an old friend now. I searched up loads of the places and names of streets and finding the specific buildings Okungbowa was referencing was so exciting.
- the folklore!!! all of it new to me and fascinating. The Eyos were so creepy, Ogun strong but sad, Eshu tricksy but not what David assumes of him, the brilliant twin gods, Olokun and his kindness towards the Makoko people, and all the others. I loved the powers they used, David's descriptions of them being two images overlapping, the doorways to other spaces, David coming into his powers using his fire and machetes (love that he was always drawn to knives and then that's what his god weapon was). All the terms were great too: taboos, godlings, godhunter, orisha, etc.
- the structure is kinda unusual, with three shorter, novella-like 'books' within the main one, which did work really well. Each part concluded to an extent, but led onto the next, and i liked that a lot.
- the writing!!! gorgeous, show-stopping, gripping as hell, perfect. The absolute best combination of poetic amazingness with irreverence, too. David's adopted dad, Papa Udi, speaks in pidgin (hope that's right term) throughout and David sometimes replies like that too, which I didn't always understand but liked all the same, it added verisimilitude. Though it was sometimes quite sparse language, it was still so vivid and evocative and i had such a clear picture in my head. Almost all the characters felt super real and I liked David a lot; even though he makes mistakes, he learns from them and he has a strong core of wanting to right by people. Particularly, i liked when he realised he should've included Fati and apologised to her.
- the action scenes! In a myth-based book, you don't always get a lot of gripping violence, but not here! i felt like this would make such a great film or series, because it is so visual. the descriptive writing of most of the book shifts into clear action scenes that I could *see* playing out, very gripping. the sheer badassery in this book just sending goosebumps over your arms when reading!
- oh also! Femi and Shonuga's little relationship was great :) i love to see some queer rep sprinkled in. and honestly i also liked that no romance plot was pushed into David's arc - he has so much going on that trying to shove that it could've ruined it.
cons:
- whilst I loved all of them, there were a few too many characters. I struggled to keep track of all of them, particularly when their names started with the same letter. I lost who Femi, Shonuga, Shonekan and some of the 'O' name gods were, as well as confusing the two 'A' names of god and host. this was a shame, because i was interested in all of them so it would've been great to have spent more time on them so i could really have a grip on them.
- too much location-ing. whilst I did really love the Lagos-ness of it all, sometimes naming all the streets did pull me out of the narrative a bit. i imagine that a person familiar with Lagos would have an absolute delight reading it and recognising everything, but a foreigner needed to re-orientate myself each time. I got confused at the start whether the gods were based on Lagos Island or the mainland, so that could've been explained a bit better. but this was really something i struggled a bit with, but still wouldn't change about the book at all - it made it what it is.
- in the action scenes, i did feel several times that David was just stood there narrating. like, he was saying what all the others were doing and i could only picture him just stood there doing nothing?? which did take me out the action
- i did feel that the ending was wrapped up a little suddenly, there could've been a bit more resolution i thought. i also got confused about what trick exactly Ogun pulled to ensure their victory. also, how did David survive the stab to the chest? and what was David's true name?
- finally, i would've loved to see some more development of David's powers. he loses himself to the chaos and power at times, but manages to rein it in near the end - i would've liked to see more of the training that got him to be able to control it. i love the trope of a character mastering their powers when it's desperately needed, but actually seeing David wrangle and learn about them would've been cool too.
(- unfortunately, the quality of the book itself was lacking. Every time a specific letter/character was printed, there was a faint square box beside it, which was annoying, and there were multiple typos too. whoever the editor or printer was didn't do a great job at all.)
so really, apart from some confusion, my only criticism is that it wasn't longer! i will definitely be hunting out more of Okungbowa's books, because this was amazing. it wasn't perfect, but i liked the good bits so very much, it's still getting 5 stars.
pros:
- i'll start with the brilliant setting and how completely grounded the book is in Lagos' every back street and cross-roads, it's past and mythology, it's politics and its languages. Having a demi-god hunting godlings in Nigeria is such a perfect set up, and I loved the Lagos-ness of all of it. I've never been to any part of Nigeria, but I feel like Lagos is an old friend now. I searched up loads of the places and names of streets and finding the specific buildings Okungbowa was referencing was so exciting.
- the folklore!!! all of it new to me and fascinating. The Eyos were so creepy, Ogun strong but sad, Eshu tricksy but not what David assumes of him, the brilliant twin gods, Olokun and his kindness towards the Makoko people, and all the others. I loved the powers they used, David's descriptions of them being two images overlapping, the doorways to other spaces, David coming into his powers using his fire and machetes (love that he was always drawn to knives and then that's what his god weapon was). All the terms were great too: taboos, godlings, godhunter, orisha, etc.
- the structure is kinda unusual, with three shorter, novella-like 'books' within the main one, which did work really well. Each part concluded to an extent, but led onto the next, and i liked that a lot.
- the writing!!! gorgeous, show-stopping, gripping as hell, perfect. The absolute best combination of poetic amazingness with irreverence, too. David's adopted dad, Papa Udi, speaks in pidgin (hope that's right term) throughout and David sometimes replies like that too, which I didn't always understand but liked all the same, it added verisimilitude. Though it was sometimes quite sparse language, it was still so vivid and evocative and i had such a clear picture in my head. Almost all the characters felt super real and I liked David a lot; even though he makes mistakes, he learns from them and he has a strong core of wanting to right by people. Particularly, i liked when he realised he should've included Fati and apologised to her.
- the action scenes! In a myth-based book, you don't always get a lot of gripping violence, but not here! i felt like this would make such a great film or series, because it is so visual. the descriptive writing of most of the book shifts into clear action scenes that I could *see* playing out, very gripping. the sheer badassery in this book just sending goosebumps over your arms when reading!
- oh also! Femi and Shonuga's little relationship was great :) i love to see some queer rep sprinkled in. and honestly i also liked that no romance plot was pushed into David's arc - he has so much going on that trying to shove that it could've ruined it.
cons:
- whilst I loved all of them, there were a few too many characters. I struggled to keep track of all of them, particularly when their names started with the same letter. I lost who Femi, Shonuga, Shonekan and some of the 'O' name gods were, as well as confusing the two 'A' names of god and host. this was a shame, because i was interested in all of them so it would've been great to have spent more time on them so i could really have a grip on them.
- too much location-ing. whilst I did really love the Lagos-ness of it all, sometimes naming all the streets did pull me out of the narrative a bit. i imagine that a person familiar with Lagos would have an absolute delight reading it and recognising everything, but a foreigner needed to re-orientate myself each time. I got confused at the start whether the gods were based on Lagos Island or the mainland, so that could've been explained a bit better. but this was really something i struggled a bit with, but still wouldn't change about the book at all - it made it what it is.
- in the action scenes, i did feel several times that David was just stood there narrating. like, he was saying what all the others were doing and i could only picture him just stood there doing nothing?? which did take me out the action
- i did feel that the ending was wrapped up a little suddenly, there could've been a bit more resolution i thought. i also got confused about what trick exactly Ogun pulled to ensure their victory. also, how did David survive the stab to the chest? and what was David's true name?
- finally, i would've loved to see some more development of David's powers. he loses himself to the chaos and power at times, but manages to rein it in near the end - i would've liked to see more of the training that got him to be able to control it. i love the trope of a character mastering their powers when it's desperately needed, but actually seeing David wrangle and learn about them would've been cool too.
(- unfortunately, the quality of the book itself was lacking. Every time a specific letter/character was printed, there was a faint square box beside it, which was annoying, and there were multiple typos too. whoever the editor or printer was didn't do a great job at all.)
so really, apart from some confusion, my only criticism is that it wasn't longer! i will definitely be hunting out more of Okungbowa's books, because this was amazing. it wasn't perfect, but i liked the good bits so very much, it's still getting 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexism