spellvexit7's reviews
144 reviews

The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death by Daniel Pinkwater

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars by Daniel M. Pinkwater

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Dune by Frank Herbert

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

5.0

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

3.0

The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.5

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor

medium-paced

3.5

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

4.25

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

On its surface, this book looked right up my alley -- Chinese-inspired banditry, adventure, roguish characters, with a touch of mysticism to boot.  I loved the larger-than-life characters with their nicknames like "the crocodile" and "the three fleas," their superhuman ability (and identity) with their given weapons, and the mystery surrounding the god's teeth.  What did not set well with me, however, was the clash between the fanciful and idealistic society of bandits and the depiction of some awful violence.  There were some strong scenes of torture and a lot of savoring of the suffering of both the torture victims and the protagonist throughout.  To its credit, there is a clear warning at the beginning of the book, but at the end of the day, I was put off by the jarring tonal contrast of lighthearted adventure with some genuinely graphic scenes of torture and suffering.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence

Moderate: Rape