Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Bat by Jo Nesbø

13 reviews

slimepuppy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Despite the blatant homophobia, transmisogyny and fatphobia, this book could have been way more fun - except when it finally begins to pick up the pace, the story grinds to a halt as the main character spirals, taking all the moderate fun time the reader was having with him down the drain.

Not terrible, but it took too long to get actually intersting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Death of parent, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Minor: Racial slurs and Injury/Injury detail

ekmook's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

1.0

I don’t even know where to begin with how deeply offensive and problematic this entire book was…even for 1997.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Transphobia, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Grief, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Racism, Homophobia, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Self harm, and Xenophobia

emmajh91's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use

xteax's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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

Minor: Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Car accident, Addiction, and Alcohol

nieva098's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Death, Genocide, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Grief, Colonisation, and Drug use

oddreads_nicolestins's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I truly enjoyed this one! I don't know why I was expecting the story to be based more in Norway- BUT I was pleasantly surprised that the book was based in Australia. What really made this book 5-stars for me, was all the details and nuance about the Aboriginal characters. Nordic reads can definitely fall flat by lacking diverse characters (for example, having very similar characters skew either good or bad could turn a story into a pile of sameness after 300 pages, depending on what you're into of course). By adding the views of more than one Aboriginal person, as well as having them represent different tribes and having different upbringings/lifestyles, I was able to really get a feel for them as people and so (without naming names) I was actually shocked/saddened when the plot twists occurred.

There were also other characters that Nesbø gave life to that might've been abbreviated or omitted completely by another author. For this I appreciate him and think if you appreciate character-driven crime reads, then his books are for you! There's also plenty plot to go around! Excited to start book 2 for #nordicnovember

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Alcoholism

Moderate: Trafficking and Death

Minor: Suicide and Colonisation

blackmetalblackheart's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

I was extremely disappointed in this book. It has been on my to-read pile for awhile, and I finally got around to it because of a buddy read. The Bat suffers a bit from translation. It has that wooden feeling to it when things feel like a direct translation instead of something that becomes fluid and living in both languages. Or the original writing could just be wooden too. I do not really know. But that is the least of the issues when it comes to this novel. I cannot get past the fetishism of indigenous culture, the racism, the misogyny, the women experiencing tragedy mostly as a way to further the male lead, the inklings of homophobia peaking throughout the pages, the treatment and portrayal of sex workers and their industry, the macho maleness that is celebrated, the police's disregard for anything but solving the case, the unbelievable actions that several characters take, and the overall logic of the whole fucking thing. I know this was written in 1997, but I do not have time for this bullshit. Ugh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Murder, Rape, Addiction, and Grief

Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Police brutality, Suicide, and Kidnapping

Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia

ran_sophia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

Spoiler

Surprising to me was who the perpetrator was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Alcoholism

Moderate: Racism and Murder

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Colonisation

kirstinreviews's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This is the first time reading a crime novel like this. I imagined a crime novel to read like this, and it does.

When I watched the 2017 film The Snowman, I didn't know it was based on a book. As soon as I found out it was (and that it was #7) I knew I had to start the series. 

Now, would I read more of the Harry Hole series? Yes, but I'm not itching to read it. When I do another book order, I will make sure to grab the next one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Death

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Rape

caitlinbythebook's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fast paced read with some mystery and twists.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use