Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

3 reviews

ethuiliel's review against another edition

challenging inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime and Colonisation

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicide, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

saltylane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring 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? No

4.0

I enjoyed reading this book, though some parts are a bit rough around the edges, imo. The world building is thorough, but I’m unsure  if it all “worked” for me. Some words were used to replace common ones, like names of chemicals/elements, and those words were used in a way that I couldn’t follow what meant what, but that may have been wholly intentional, in order to show the reader how the main character, Anequs, felt being tossed into an unfamiliar world. 
Some of the scenes were rather detailed to the point that I was a bit bored with them, like a couple of the class scenes wherein Anequs had to learn detailed concepts. It’s possible they were intentionally written that way to have the reader share the confusion of Anequs upon having to learn the complex concepts, but I almost skipped the scene entirely about midway through. On the other hand, some scenes were briefly described when I might’ve liked to read more about them in detail. 
The descriptions of the dragons when they first appeared were added in such a way that it was hard for me to actually picture the individual creatures in my mind. The species were almost all described at once, and I couldn’t retain what they looked like after that point because the ideas blended together. The descriptions were thorough, but being introduced to most of them all at once made it harder for me to keep up with what was what afterwards. I would like to see illustrations of them, though, because they did sound interesting to see!

The story itself is inspiring as Anequs faces much adversity in the community she’s thrust into. The analogs to real-world issues can be painful a lot of the time, but it’s informative and inspiring when Anequs fights to make change. The way she becomes an agent for change in those around her with her tenacity and kindness/empathy is heartwarming. 

Overall, I enjoyed the read, and I look forward to the sequels. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Slavery, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

onegalonelife27's review

At this moment, the book is a bit slow and long for my liking. I do want to finish it later. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Colonisation

Minor: War and Pandemic/Epidemic