Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

12 reviews

kanonkita's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.75

Very well written. I had some issues with the slow pacing of the first book in this series that I felt this one largely managed to avoid. Some aspects of the main character were a bit grating at times, but in one sense that was the point. She was struggling with trauma and mental health issues related to that, and I think Ellis did a good job portraying how these things can make someone difficult to deal with or be around. 

That being said, maybe avoid the audiobook unless you really enjoy listening to tremulous female voices shouting "No no no" over and over again ever few minutes. The computerized sound effect that was put over the Amygdalans' voices in the audiobook could also be grating at times and made it difficult to hear them if there was any background noise while I was listening.

Overall, I would recommend it, but do pay attention to the content warning Ellis provides at the beginning of the novel. 

Also, a note that I have not seen this book listed as LGBTQ+ in many places, which I can only chalk up to bi erasure. Cora is bisexual, and it seems unfair that this gets overlooked just because she has a heterosexual romance, especially given that it occurs alongside her very queer relationship with an alien who only uses he/him pronouns out of convenience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Gore, Suicide attempt, Islamophobia, Addiction, Death, Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

seullywillikers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was much darker than "Axiom's End," and as such, a bit harder to read. I love the premise of Extraterrestrial personhood being debated on the American political, and world stage. The new characters were interesting and I really got invested in them. Towards the end, I was feeling like "okay geez, how much more is there actually" but I'm pleased with where the ending takes us. I'm hoping there's another installation in this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Gore, Islamophobia, Confinement, Deportation, Racism, and Addiction

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Infertility, and Eating disorder

libras's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Well, that was depressing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Cursing, and Suicide

Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexual content, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Police brutality, Violence, Antisemitism, Death, Gun violence, and Alcoholism

Minor: Infertility and Fire/Fire injury

moonspren's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Eating disorder, Grief, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death, Gun violence, and Mental illness

Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism

ling_prof's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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: Suicide, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Blood, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Violence, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Addiction, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, and Hate crime

Minor: Forced institutionalization

nelldiaz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book builds of the first book and takes it further! I'm so excited for the rest of the series.  This book made me cry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Eating disorder, and Gun violence

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

Minor: Racial slurs

hanarama's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

4.25

Book at a glance:
• Human/alien relationship
 • Polyamorous
 • Early 2000 alternate history
 • First Contact
• CWs: attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, self harm, toxic relationships, mental illness, panic attacks, gun violence, racism, Islamophobia, death 

Several months following the events of Axiom’s End, Cora is suffering from ptsd. She has panic attacks, depression, and night terrors. She relies on Ampersand for support and medication. She struggles to relax and to pull her mind away from what happened with Obelisk. 

Meanwhile the American government struggles to determine how to treat the aliens, politically. A growing conservative movement is pushing for a Third Option, that would treat the aliens as people, but with "different" rights than humans. Kaveh, a investigative journalist and immigrant fears that this will open the door to stripping humans of rights. When another alien makes landfall, Cora and Kaveh are thrown together and must fight for the humanity of extraterrestrial beings. 

I enjoyed Truth of the Divine more than I did Axiom’s End. The expanded cast helps to flesh out the world building. Kaveh and Nikola's friendship helps to drive the plot. And Kaveh provides a much needed dose of idealism and optimism to the story. Cora's mental illness is portrayed realistically, to painful effect. Her relationship with Ampersand is written as increasingly toxic for both characters, and as he has been her only support system, both characters seem set for a downward spiral. Without Kaveh for hope and levity, the story could easily have been too bleak. 

Though Ellis writes compelling internal narration, she flounders with dialog. When not about the aliens, the fate of humanity, and other heavy topics, the characters often feel stilted and forced. I found myself cringing at the dialog more than a couple or times, it felt so awkward. 

Despite this, Ellis knows how to set high stakes. The story is steeped in political issues. Though set in an alternate recent past, the story draws on today's most pressing issues of human rights. While I felt that Ellis wrote a good sci-fi that evokes human rights issues and the looming climate crisis, it may feel a little too on the nose for some readers. By pulling inspiration from real issues, I felt that the story was given a greater sense of gravity. 

The ending hits hard. That she gives Kaveh the last chapter felt particularly important to me as it seems as though the series appears to be moving towards bleaker territory. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gun violence

jjreads331's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Of all the places I thought this series would go, this was not it, if I'm being honest. And I am so happy to have been surprised. I'm excited to see what comes next, even if I'm still reeling a bit from this entry into the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Self harm

Moderate: Antisemitism, Colonisation, Hate crime, Medical content, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Confinement, and Gun violence

malmer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Medical trauma

wrzlprmft's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Sexual content, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Torture, War, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Confinement, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Police brutality