talonsontypewriters's reviews
262 reviews

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Blood, Classism, Murder, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Violence, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Minor: Miscarriage, Alcohol, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, War, and Infertility

Failure to Communicate by Kaia Sønderby

adventurous emotional medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Ableism, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Incest, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Bullying, Alcohol, and Drug use

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

emotional hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, and Medical content

Moderate: Racism, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Violence, and Dysphoria

Needles/injections (HRT).

The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Body horror, Suicide, Death, Murder, and Grief

Minor: Deadnaming and Vomit

The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Body horror, Classism, Incest, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicide

Minor: Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Rape, Infidelity, Child death, and Sexual assault

Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Brook Tsai

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Interesting themes, but the plot and character motives don't deviate much from Frankenstein -- certain actions seem to be driven only, indeed, by a need to mirror the original narrative. Feels too constrained to its status as a retelling, even sometimes directly quoting the original novel when it doesn't make much sense or fit with the narrative voice, and unfortunately that seems to keep it from delving as deep into the ideas present as it could have.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Abandonment, Death, Murder, and Ableism

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Child death, and Misogyny

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Incest, Miscarriage, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Abortion, Suicide, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Gore, Death, Murder, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Body horror, Torture, Death of parent, Classism, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Child abuse

Minor: Vomit and Drug use

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Moderate: Transphobia, Drug use, and Sexual content

Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, Deadnaming, and Outing

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories: A Collection of Chinese Science Fiction and Fantasy in Translation from a Visionary Team of Female and Nonbinary Creators by Regina Kanyu Wang, Yu Chen

adventurous reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Bullying, Dementia, Sexism, Death, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Genocide, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Torture

Moderate: Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Ableism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Domestic abuse, War, Genocide, Slavery, Vomit, Child abuse, and Incest