scarlettskyes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, Cancer, Grief, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Medical trauma, and Child death
nardithi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Genocide
beandream's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Murder, Death, Terminal illness, and Child death
Minor: Genocide
anneroza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Terminal illness, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, Body horror, Death, Violence, Cancer, Injury/injury detail, Grief, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Genocide
possibilityleft's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gore, Child abuse, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Body horror, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical content, Genocide, Death, Cannibalism, Blood, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Injury/injury detail, Death of parent, Child death, Abandonment, and Physical abuse
eatingbrains's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I went into this book knowing almost nothing beyond the tag line of Lesbian Necromancers in Space and that it was genre-bending for sci-fi and fantasy. That was enough to sell me on reading it, even though I heard mixed things.
Did it deliver on those premises? Mostly. There are characters that identified as women and showed attraction/flirted with others that also identified as women, some of those characters were also necromancers. With regards to being in space, there is very limited space shuttle travel, so I don't know that I would really quantify it that way, though there is ample room for that to change for the future in the series.
This book was indeed a crossover between sci-fi and fantasy in that it involved a technologically advanced civilization (space travel, and such) but with the deep roots of necromancy that almost took it into dark academia territory. The necromancers are all obsessed in learning new theorems/spells and figuring out things in their specializations, and there are also trials they have to pass and mysteries to solve before they can advance.
There's a lot of tension because it is a competition and you don't really begin to understand the stakes until Act II and then the full whammy hits you near the end.
Also, I feel like I have a conspiracy theory based on the epilogue/info peppered throughout the book so click for spoilers, I guess:
Spoiler
Okay, so Gideon did not die with all the other children even though she was close to the vents for 10 minutes and her parents were hella scared about that. In the epilogue, the Emperor says they couldn't retrieve Camilla (who was last seen alive) or Gideon's bodies so what if Harrow has Gideon's soul, but like, the body/vessel is still alive? And Camilla managed to be resourceful because she definitely is wicked smart and they escaped the First planet...? Or hid until they left? I dunno. Maybe I just don't want Gideon to be dead because her gay panic was so relatable. And everyone else. I loved the Fourth teens with their perpetual embarrassment and the Fifth cav Magnus was so sweet...Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, Murder, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Injury/injury detail, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Cancer, Death, Slavery, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Terminal illness, Bullying, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Child death, Stalking, and War
clarabooksit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death, Child death, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Genocide, Death of parent, and Infertility
boglord's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Suicide, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: War, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
huntress's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Chronic illness, War, Terminal illness, Blood, Gore, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Slavery, Grief, Genocide, Torture, Suicide attempt, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cannibalism
jonie_rich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Vomit, War, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Cannibalism, Genocide, Gore, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Grief, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/injury detail, and Medical trauma