Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - Trădătoarea Baru Cormoran

Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Trădătoarea Baru Cormoran by Seth Dickinson

92 reviews

sourcherrysyrup's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark 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

Baruuuuu

Content Warnings

notbambi's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Baru Cormorant sets out to fight monsters, only to become one herself. This is a book that has you thinking, "what is her endgame?" up to literally 30 pages from the end, and then you hit it and you're gobsmacked.

This book spends a lot of time exploring local politics, economics, colonialism, and war, and it turns out that made-up geopolitics are totally my jam. For once, the map in the front of the fantasy novel was indispensible for keeping track of the web of dukes and their shifting alliances as the story went on (also, nice touch that the map is an in-universe sketch of the region, with pithy notes about all the dukes). And at the centre of it all, Baru Cormorant, ostensibly trying to save her people from the empire by bringing them down from the inside, and being fundamentally transformed by that empire into a completely ruthless, calculating bitch. She has just enough blindspots and vulnerability for us to at least be captivated by her contradictions, if not always sympathetic.

Content Warnings

dataphract's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional tense 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

jesus christ seth

Content Warnings

liokamino's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

perfect fucking book

Content Warnings

missmali's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

thesunthesunthesunthesun's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I'll try to write a proper review later, when I've recovered. This book killed me, revived me, and then killed me again. Everything fits perfectly it just,, had to happen like that there was no escaping this.

My partner thrust this book in my hands yesterday with the request to read "just chapter one, and then let me know what you think :)". I finished it in 2 days (mostly because general life got in the way). I'm still reeling. This book is etched into my brain now.

Content Warnings

emath98's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Pages 1-368 4.75 stars
Pages 369-399 1 star

I AM SO ANGRY AT SETH DICKINSON. This book started out with a super interesting premise, a main character I was rooting for, political intrigue, lesbianism, and anti-colonial struggle. I couldn't put it down. I even enjoyed Seth's typical use of intense military/economic strategy (did NOT like in Exordia, DNFed that one). But I cannot in good faith support the ending of this book. I don't think I'll read the rest of the series.

2 massive complaints about the end of this book.
1: I am soooo tired of the kill your gays trope. It's not interesting or unique or compelling to the plot. Stop making your queer characters suffer for being queer!!!
2: The ending of the book, and what I've read about the other 2 books in the series so far, really buy in to the "I can change the system from the inside" idea that has never worked. (The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house, anyone?) I know part of the point is to have Baru as a morally dubious character, sacrificing her humanity in an attempt to save her people, but I don't buy it as an effective tactic. It feels so weird and icky that the "genius savant" who is apparently constantly able to trick and outsmart everyone, lands on sacrificing millions of innocent lives and the revolutionary hopes of other oppressed peoples for her own selfish gains as her brilliant tactic. I don't think her family would be proud of her. I am not proud of her. Maybe I should've seen it coming from the title...

In conclusion, could've been something really powerful and anti-colonial, but fell so flat to me in the end. Currently pretending that the final ~30 pages of the book do not exist.

Content Warnings