Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin

13 reviews

mxkanteven's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Torture, Gore, Confinement, Body horror, Classism, Death of parent, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Murder

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

mossgoblins's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Although N.K. Jemison’s Broken Earth trilogy is one of my all time favorite series, I didn’t resonate strongly with this book. It is one of her first books, so perhaps it is simply that she has grown so much as an author since, but I found the characters less complex in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the plot confusing, and the setting merely satisfactory. I can’t recommend this book as more than just a mildly entertaining read, but I do highly recommend Jemison’s later works- in particular: The Fifth Season. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, War, Blood, Emotional abuse, Incest, Torture, Confinement, Body horror, Death, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Gore, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Slavery

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Is anyone surprised? This book has all the hallmarks of why we love Jemisin: a rich, exciting, creative world, compelling characters, and a narrative voice unlike any other I’ve read period, much less in this genre. I have the whole trilogy, and I’m excited to see where the story builds from here. It’s great to see where Jemisin began to carve out her place in the line of great novelists, and she popped out almost fully polished and ready to go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Torture, Grief, Slavery, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Incest, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape

queenie_ofthe_void's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

NKJ is a continuous safe go-to for great stories. Of course I loved Nahadoth, but Yeine and Sieh were amazing protagonists. Even the villains were great, although I would've liked it just a touch more if Yeine had had at least one positive female relationship in the story. With that said, the men (and/or male presenting) on her side were diverse in personalities and enjoyable. Can't wait to read more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Sexual content, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Murder, Injury/injury detail, and Grief

Minor: War, Vomit, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

anxiousnachos's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

So mad at myself and the world for the fact I didn’t know N.K Jemisin had a god/monster fucking book ARE YOU KIDDING. And it’s amazing. Of course it is, it’s N.K Jemisin. Okay so this is a fantasy romance (ish) between a monster god who is enslaved alongside his god children and a mortal girl who is forced into the plans to free his family by the scheming of her dead mother. This is one of those books where you will have no idea what is going on at times but you will love it and if you just go along with it, it will all begin to make sense. There is a mystery as Yeine tries to work out the truth behind her mother’s death and the slavery of the gods, there is an absolutely incredibly interesting religion that is built wonderfully (I do think worldbuilding is always one of the things N.K Jemisin does best), and there is just an amazing sexy, kinky dynamic between Nahadoth and Yeine, in this god/mortal romance. I LOVED IT. Inject this trope into my veins please and thank you. There is such an interesting parallel to the behaviour of the gods and the behaviour of the human characters, made clear by a line one the gods says ‘we made you in our image’, and just, gah, it’s so clear where the passion and selfishness and ambition of the human characters come from. SO WELL DONE. I read 50 pages of this book and immediately went out and bought the sequels to prepare, because I knew I’d need to read them as soon as I finished, it was that good.

Content warnings: violence, murder, death, incest, torture, body horror, blood, gore, slavery, sex, consensual violence during sex, cannibalism, pedophilia, death of a parent, alcoholism, war 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Murder, Body horror, Death, Torture, Death of parent, Blood, and Slavery

Moderate: Incest, Rape, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and War

mandkips's review

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Incest, Body horror, and Slavery

Minor: Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

applequinn's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Torture

Minor: Rape, Pedophilia, and Incest

seanml's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

The Gods are HOT and everyone is down BAD for them, the other Gods especially. 7/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Confinement, Genocide, Racism, and War

coffinfinite's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

After struggling to find a book that gripped me for some time, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was a welcome re-discovery. I vaguely remembered reading it in 2015 and enjoying it, so I picked it up again and was swept away in a fast paced, vivid adventure set in a terrifying fantasy world where a single family wields power with an iron fist bestowed upon them by the "true God" of the Bright. The depiction of enslaved Godlings and political machinations set against a backdrop of the Sky, a beautiful but deadly seat of power, kept me entranced from start to finish. Our heroine, Yeine, is dropped into an impossible-to-win power struggle for the throne of Sky,  and her only allies are the unpredictable and at times unfathomable Enefadeh, broken Godlings who have a plan of their own when it comes to the succession of power. As the story unfolds with flashbacks and dream sequences alongside the fortnight of terror Yeine must endure as the day of the succession draws near, Jemisin's beautiful prose kept me spellbound to the very end. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy - and perhaps even to those who find the genre dubious.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, and Slavery

Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Murder, and Religious bigotry

achingallover's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs