Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

18 reviews

kaziaroo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I'm never sure how I feel about multiple-POV books but this is one of the best examples I've seen of it done right. One minute I would be swayed by one POV's rose-tinted impression of another character, only to have that impression blown out of the water by seeing that character's own perspective in the next chapter. The characters' duplicitousness and reactions to each other made the story thrilling and tense, even when plotwise things were progressing slowly. I loved every second.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, and Homophobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Rape

Several detailed descriptions of handling and eating meat (both fresh and cooked).

totallyshelfaware's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Ableism, and Rape

Moderate: Gaslighting and Blood

noodletheriddle's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Blood

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Miscarriage

talonsontypewriters's review

adventurous tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Gaslighting, and Rape

Moderate: Body shaming, Cannibalism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Body horror, Grief, and Sexism

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Alcohol, Child death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Slavery, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia

sophia_lechner's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense

• 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

Only half a book; the publisher split a book into two parts and pretended they were two separate books. Read this with Dragon Haven or you'll find that the book just ends with no plotlines resolved. 

The dragons in this book make me sad because they're not very impressive dragons, but I know it's just to make me happy later so I'll allow it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Rape

Moderate: Infidelity

pinup_and_pages's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

• 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

This book was mostly setup for these chronicles and was slow paced but still very enjoyable. Hobbs character work is of top quality as always and the slow build of this journey type story led to a bit of a thrilling cliffhanger. The only qualm I had with this first book of the series is the focus on the romantic relationships throughout. Two of the protagonists flits between attraction for one character to the other which I just did not care about. I wanted to experience more world building and plot rather than romantic interests. Having said that, with one of the protagonists written this way (a teenager), Hobb created a realistic, fickle teen which I could also appreciate.
There were a couple of scenes that were difficult to read at times (see trigger warnings) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

kirstym25's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Ableism

Moderate: Sexual violence and Animal death

Minor: Slavery

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.

poisonenvy's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

Here we are, starting the fourth series of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series.  Interestingly, these books have been sitting on my shelf for the longest out of all of them; my friend got them either for my birthday or for Christmas years and years ago.  

Like all of Hobbs' books, it's beautifully written, if slow. A lot of themes surrounding ableism in this one.  I don't have a lot to say about it overall though; it felt as though there was something missing that I love in the Fitz books, which was even present in Liveship Traders. I couldn't begin to say what though. 

Even still, this was an excellent way to start March.  

I listened to most of it, and once again, Anna Flosnik does an excellent job.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, and Ableism

gracecrandall's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Excrement, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Ableism, Abandonment, Bullying, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Cannibalism