Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

2 reviews

sassmistress's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

It's a very slow-paced book, but the writing is really enticing. Definitely gets a little more exciting towards the end and ends on a cliffhanger. Most of the slowness seems to come from weaving the backstories needed for the various characters. I like the subtle pro-life themes, Austen-style society, and expert emotional manipulation by the author. Would rate higher but for the graphic sexual content. 

Reminds me of A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, if you're looking for more of the Bingtown/Alise story line. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Rape, Racism, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Death, Alcohol, and Slavery

Emotional abuse from a spouse and from a parent, lying (nearly to the point of gaslighting) about an affair. Three graphic sex scenes-- one an unpleasantly dutiful consummation of marriage, one martial rape, and one violent fade-to-black between the two men having the aforementioned affair. Heavy prejudice based on "birth defects" for which infants are normally abandoned to die, injuries are described in detail--pus, cutting away putrified flesh, pulling out a sick dragon's scales and impaling to siphon blood, and

touching the blood flow and tasting it.

Descriptions of the effects of war and gentrification. Lots of prejudice (besides visible birth differences, there is also some racial/national prejudice). An uncomfortable amount of mysogyny/sexism, both systemic and individual.

mustnotblink's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

Dragonkeeper feels very much like it’s missing half of its content. While the book does a great job introducing us to the world and its people, the plot seems to drag. The main characters have all come together by the end, but the end of the book feels arbitrarily picked - not plotted.

I normally do not have a problem reading story lines featuring abusive and manipulative men, but

I absolutely despise Hest.

He rubbed me so wrong that I was initially unsure if I wanted to read the next book. Ultimately I decided to continue the series because the setting is brilliant and I do want to see how the characters end up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, and Infidelity

Minor: Miscarriage, Slavery, and Domestic abuse