Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Kriegsklingen by Joe Abercrombie

4 reviews

arian_dragonelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Gore, Murder, Classism, Blood, Cursing, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death

Minor: Physical abuse

mmefish's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny slow-paced

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

3.0

What I liked:

1. Glokta and his crew. Terrific.
2. How insufferable Jezal is.
3. Very accurate portrayal of one's personal struggles.
4. Humour.

What I didn't like:

1. There's only 2 female characters (neither is a main character), both with minimal development.
2. Too much "sucking on gums".
3. The book is at least slightly racist. The only slaves we see (so far) are black, the southerns portrayed as savages, and one of the (few) characters with dark skin behaves like an animal. She literally hisses, wants nothing but to kill, jumps on tables to claw someone for no particular reason, described as to smell like piss, etc. She was a slave, not raised by wolves. Really unnecessary.
4. Taking in consideration that it was written in 2006, reading multiple times that someone (a man) "fought/shrieked/cried/behaved like a girl/woman" was still a bit frustrating.
5. Overexplanation. For example:

[Someone is getting whipped] Ferro twitched and winced at the sound, and her back began to tingle.
Where the scars were.
Almost as if she'd been whipped herself.

Or:

Dewy old eyes peered up and down. "Yes?"
"Inquisitor Glokta."
"Ah, from the Arch Lector?"
Glokta frowned, surprised. "Yes, that's right." They cannot be half so cut off from the world as they appear. He seems to know who I am.

This happens multiple times throughout the story. We get it.

Either way, I kinda see where this is going, and I can't say I like it. Plot is definitely the weakest thing about "The Blade Itself".

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Murder, Classism, Racism, Torture, and Misogyny

Moderate: Gore, Animal death, and Slavery

apiecalypsejen's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

5.0

The First Law trilogy is my favourite of the two trilogies that take place in this world. The characters are definitely flawed, each of them in their own way with not one of them being clear or free of some kind of barrier or encumbrance to you calling them your "favourite" without some reluctance or guilt (aside from

Spoiler

possibly Brother Longfoot

). This story sets up the next two books, which means it is a lot of establishing of relationships, characters, and the basis for the

Spoiler

journey/war

that comprises the second book. It's a great story about men in their 20s, and how they can be hardheaded and too arrogant, and where that can take them, as well as has two excellent and deep woman character in Ferro and Ardee. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Addiction, Racism, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Drug abuse, Cursing, Confinement, War, Violence, Kidnapping, Gore, Genocide, Alcoholism, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Self harm, Physical abuse, Excrement, Drug use, Death, Sexual violence, Vomit, Body horror, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Bullying

Minor: Rape

coulro's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, Gore, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Murder, Torture, War, Body horror, and Animal death