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valjeanval's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
The plot, however, is meandering and constantly interrupted by random encounter fight scenes. Fun to play as a game, less fun to read. And those fight scenes are gory to a level that I just don't enjoy. It also suffers from being only half a book, and I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to pursue the sequel right away. We shall see, but overall, a unique piece of norse-inspired fantasy though not entirely my cuppa.
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
zeroschatz's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and War
Moderate: Vomit and Injury/Injury detail
dmeda03's review against another edition
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and War
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sinaprst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
the plot, the lore, the characters, the monsters, the magic, the fighting, all of it is just amazingly written and really sucks you into this beautiful and compelling but deadly world, where nothing and noone ever feels save...
... and the ending just leaves you wanting for more!
(the beginning was a bit slow though, which is the only reason why I'm not rating this 5 stars)
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/ERW4uLhNoH8?si=9qcRSMORewkBwLev
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Torture, and Kidnapping
changelingreader_adrian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Testicles and descriptions of them are a bit weirdly there, so be prepared for thatxta_07's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
This book follows three main protagonists - A former slave trying to find his place, a warrior seeking to make a name for herself, and a battle hardened mother on a quest for revenge.
What a ride! I was hooked from the beginning. John Gwyenne KNOWS how to write a compelling fight scene, and that seriously a good thing since there was a major fight or battle almost every other chapter in this book. What I truly appreciate was that this wasn’t just a book about revenge, or glorification of violence. It truly explored the bonds that people create through trama and what found family can look like. Also, the world building and character development were near perfect. I can’t wait to read book 2!
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, and Classism
Minor: Torture
rmantelli's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Torture
saltycoffee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
afternoon_sunshowers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Lots of characters and parallel storylines that didn’t start to intertwine until around the 80% mark, and the final action scenes were nonstop.
Getting attached to characters is risky because chances are they’ll die or
I’ve heard book 2 ends on a major cliffhanger so I may give it a little more time before picking it up so I’m not stuck with that waiting for book 3 in this trilogy(?).
Graphic: Gore, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery