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k_aro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Off the bat, Nona's internal narrative is much more loving and caring than Gideon and Harrow, which is to say I spent so much more of GtN and HtN actively being confused and annoyed by the various characters, where in Nona they're a lot more understandable. NtN really does pull out to look at what the TLT-verse looks like outside of the Houses (and to a certain degree that life outside of them are in fact so fruitful and lively, which is something I just couldn't really imagine previously).
Ianthe is worse than ever, which is a compliment because I love how terrible she is. Muir really excels at the most horrifying relationships, experienced through shreds of narrative. I agree that NtN really feels like a prologue, but frankly a prologue to what I could not say; this seems to be a running TLT joke where each book is just more confusing and more disorienting than the last. Truly, I could not imagine what Alecto will do.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War
Minor: Terminal illness
Terminal Illness:shottel's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Still, I would say it’s better than Gideon and a mark worse than Harrow - which is to say, it’s very good. I had a harder time following the plot than before, and while Muir makes great strides with diversity in this book, it sometimes comes off a tad awkward (like in the repeated misgendering of a character with they/them pronouns, just for them to correct themselves). But those are pretty small problems compared to the rest of this deeply dark and funny novel. If you liked Gideon and Harrow, I highly recommend it.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Transphobia, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Trafficking
bluestjuice's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Nona is so, incredibly, real. This is one of Muir's great talents - despite writing a series that is utterly over-the-top space melodrama with gothic elements and skeletons and necromantic flourishes all over everything, they nevertheless create people that feel and act utterly peopley. Many authors can't convincingly write youthful characters even in ordinary circumstances; Muir portrays Nona's uncomprehending childishness in a way that is genuine and feels both true to the experience of the young without being the least bit saccharine. I loved Nona, entirely, and her protagonism resonated with me vigorously despite the twisty, adult, machination-y web of deceit and plotting that surrounded her nearly every step of the way.
This is the third book in the series, which I have waited for a long time, and which I should clearly have bothered to do a re-read of previous to this because the lore here is deep and the references are layered in as thickly as Griddle's skull makeup back in <i>Gideon the Ninth</i>. On the other hand, having now skidded out the other side (I'm not kidding: I read the last 100 pages in a rare frenzy of <i><b>you don't understand I cannot put this down until I know what happens</b></i>), I have a burning desire to go re-read everything through again, to line up pieces and notice all the many things I'm sure I missed or didn't realize the significance of at the moment they were deployed.
Anyway, I don't even feel qualified to review this really because my emotions are leaking out all over the place and I don't know what to say to explain how enjoyable I find this series and this installment. In all its infuriating circuitous mystery. I can't believe I have to keep waiting to find out what happens next.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War
Minor: Child death, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship
iane_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Trafficking, Car accident, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and War
atomicrobin's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol
hayleyvem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Bullying and Drug use
helfire124's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
erebus53's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
In an improvement(?) from the second book, this third installment does not have more medical terms than your average first year anatomy text book. It is still a little wordsy, but I didn't encounter the word nacreous even once! (despite it being applicable at one point). As per usual you are, metaphorically, chucked in the deep end and held there until you get used to it. Maybe this time around I was just too tired to take it all in, because I spent quite a bit of time just feeling lost and wondering what was happening.
Most of this book takes part in a semi-domestic dystopia. Surrounded by refugees, and with limited resources, some familiar characters look after Nona, while trying to find out how altered she has become by her own semi-Lyctoral transformation. Nona becomes a teacher aide working at a school for a ragtag gang of kids. There are factions vying for power, and people being executed, and militia on the street as enforcers.. but through the eyes of Nona we aren't privy to the machinations of the State.
I'm sticking with my original feel that this series is quite a bit like the Evangelion anime. Through a series of Nona's dreams (that really seem more real than what is going on for her in her life) we get some more back-story about John, the first necromancer and it all gets pretty trippy. The relationships developed between the characters all begin to feel irrelevant, like everything is falling into a huge pit of nihilism, as everything loses cohesion. There is a travel sequence for which Nona's part or skills seem to have had no lead-up or explanation, and as a result it did not hold tension or deliver a feeling of success at its climax. (yes that could be an analogy.. get out of the gutter :P )
Honestly I don't know if the story put me to sleep or if I am just finally having to succumb after an ongoing pattern of weather related insomnia. I have clearly not invested enough energy or legwork into understanding everything going on. I was excited about one revelation in this entire book, there was a whole lot more "huh?" and "uh, ok" than "oooh riiight!" in this leg of the trilogy, and its conclusion was seriously unsatisfying. Not quite a 3 star for me.
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War
jjreads331's review against another edition
- 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
Proper review to come when I have more time to think about this beyond expressing my opinions in memes.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
theirgracegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Excrement, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Colonisation
The Blood of Eden's attack on necromancers comes with a lot of slur-like terms and bigotry that is reminiscent of (but not a direct copy of) religious bigotry in real life.