Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

16 reviews

spacetravels's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Cursing, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism

Minor: Sexual violence and Excrement

hellsjerome's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Such an amazing read, there’s a very unique feeling to this book that I’m afraid I won’t be able to find in another work. The monsters are so damn imaginative. I am incredibly scared of eels right now. Highly recommended to anyone who liked A24’s Green Knight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

directorpurry's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, and War

Minor: Grief and Death of parent

zachbrumaire's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

wow

mixed feelings on this one

the first 3 parts functioned really well as environmental/climate fiction, the portrayal of society from the mundane to the metaphysical under the pressure cooker of the Black Death

part 4 was bold and weird and reorinted the narrative to more interpersonal papal court politics at the same time a shift from magical realism to a more ordered clash of capabilities and powers, and something was lost that made the first parts so weird and great. 

the end, especially the detentmont, was very neat and tidy, very just so, and while some of the surreal poetry of the earlier parts of the work reemerged the impression was one of a shift from the horrors of a heaven and earth abandoned by God to one micromanaged by  him just-cause.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

callandor19's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Right up my alley. The French side of the Hundred Years' War and the apocalyptic perception of life during the Plague were both interesting new perspectives to me. The "lone wolf and cub" setup has the potential to be obnoxiously saccharine or tropey, but I think Buehlman strikes a good balance here. Brutal and horrifying as fits the setting, plus an extra layer of brutality and horror due to the overt supernatural stuff, but the latter doesn't feel like it comes at the expense of stakes or credulity.

RE: Bingo, the POV character is a brigand who has deserted from the French army after the battle of Crecy. Even though the world is generally lawless after the plague's outbreak, he and his companions are definitely still considered criminals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism

hamstringy's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

Unexpectedly really emotionally resonant! Pitched via Twitter as medieval Black Plague horror, and it’s definitely horror but a much quieter and disturbing horror rather than a nonstop onslaught of Big Events. Also somehow still very vulnerable and three-dimensional when approaching characters who have lived some contradictory and not-so-great choices. 

It’s also a particularly humanizing portrayal of a pandemic & a deeply religious response to that pandemic. It’s interesting to me that a lot of the attitudes around *somehow still living during horrible times* match very closely with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Grief

jomojobo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Antisemitism

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Pedophilia

anewlens's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

jffgldblm90s's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

Excellently portrayed demons, monsters, and abominations — yet the scariest stuff is sometimes just the plague.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment

gringolet's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad tense medium-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

4.0

Well researched, succeeded in capturing the feel of the period and really excellent for anyone who likes religious horror, medieval settings, and the plague, which is me. It is weirdly Catholic on a fundamental, foundational level, however I think writing anything set in medieval Europe kind of requires that headspace and it was Catholic in a "cool with gay people" way, so it didn't bother me too much. The characters were grounded in the period and yet still dynamic, interesting and likeable, and the horror elements were well done with some fun messed up creatures and gore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Antisemitism, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Outing, Sexual harassment, and War