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Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Racism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Cannibalism, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Deportation
I knew it was a story about deep seated chauvinism and its impact on the society and even the greatest minds when those are raised with such beliefs.
I knew that it was an introspection on privilege — Siona who is treated badly by her male colleagues is treating Tommen equally bad if not worse. How easy it is to forget that other people have it worse when you are focused on your own issues. It doesn’t make your issues less; it just puts things into perspective.
I knew that it was about choice — whether you are willing to question your ideals even if they actively benefit you. How eager people are to ease their burdens at the expense of other people. And how hard it might be to even comprehend the evil around you and inside of you.
But I still wasn’t ready for where the plot of blood over bright haven took me. I wasn’t expecting it to be that clear on the mission of getting to the point. I feel like I walked this road with Siona and cried with her and raged with her. I love how the story is not sparing us any suffering along the way. It had to be done like this, like a mirror that she created, that opens right in front of your face and shows you the truth how uncomfortable it really is.
I have a feeling I will be thinking about this book for a long time
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Child death
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
M.L. Wang rips away the facade of a glorious empire and exposes the atrocities committed beneath, and does it with beautiful and expressive writing. Everyone should read this - books like this give me hope.
I hope it burns anyone who tries to ban it.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Racism and sexism *can* exist even if the perpetrators aren't generic, predictable, mustache-twirling villains. I wish the story had explored less obvious and more nuanced depictions of these real world issues.
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Classism
1.)
The depth of world-building and unending, but never boring explanation of the hard-magic / science system in place for this novel is astounding. It never manages to fall into the trap of info-dumping on the reader, staying crisp and detailed but not overbearing as we move through the story.
It drip feeds what information is necessary at the time it’s needed, fleshing out our understanding of Bright Haven; the clans, the politics, the religion and the biases as we encounter them.
2.)
The characters themselves are intrinsically human; chaotic and difficult, at times so detestably hard to like, shining a light on our own privileges and pitfalls. Each person we encounter gives us a window into societal oppression, and how it manifests.
Sciona, The morally ambiguous FMC is at odds with the most commonly seen female heroines of fantasy: She’s ego driven and inscrutable, logical to the point of delusion. A cold hearted scientist with limited social skills, navigating the most difficult social situations the writer can think up whilst pressing her will against an empire that would squash her like a bug.
3.)
This is an intricate critique of power-structures that holds up a mirror to our own world and the hypocrisy and fallacy’s within our own (present/ and) history. It is not so heavy handed that the points made feel didactic, nor is it so subtle as to lack substance.
Wang injects irony, levity, and moments of softness with a grace that buffs up against the brutality and the grotesque examples of sexism, racism and religious zealotry that make this a more advanced and darker read than other books coming out at the same time.
4.)
Read this book if you want a dark academic fantasy that challenges and provokes with wit, wonder, a touch of body horror and a healthy heaping of emotional sabotage.
5.)
In short, a masterpiece of contemporary fiction.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexism, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎:
▶︎ 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚞𝚗𝚔 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌
▶︎ 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝙰𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚊
▶︎ 𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚢
▶︎ 𝙳𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗
Sciona is a mage, gifted at operating the spellograph: a magical typewriter for siphoning energy from the Otherrealm to power all the things a modern society could want.
Unfortunately she’s a woman, so her path to high-mageship will be wrought with difficulty... if it’s even possible. No woman has ever done it before. She’d be the first.
Let me put it out there: Sciona is unlikeable. She’s arrogant, selfish, and has an unfortunate superiority complex. She’s super smart, yet also painfully naive. And she is constantly crying. She’s the product of her environment.
And that’s the beauty of it — aren’t we all fundamentally the product of our environment?
I loved the book. I love nuance and I love morally grey characters and this book has them in spades. The well-intentioned are everywhere, and they look benign, even virtuous, hiding behind facades. Then there are the bystanders who don’t want to see the truth.
This is a book to make you check your biases. It’s devastating and raw.
°✩₊˚.🎧⋆☾⁺₊ Although I read this with my eyes, I previewed the audiobook just to see. Verdict: Moira Quirk’s narration and English accent would have been a great way to ingest this book as well!
“𝚃𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝.”
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual harassment, Classism