Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

10 reviews

mcmeiss's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Minor: Slavery, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

jaedia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexism, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

stephen_welch93's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.75

The writing style is interesting. A lot of the action happens on the periphery of the narrative. That makes the world feel very alive. A lot happens away from the main characters. But that also makes it very complicated and difficult to keep track of what’s happening. The cast of characters is also very large, so keeping everyone straight can be tough. The plot is interesting and the characters are cool. I definitely want to know what happens next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Rape, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Trafficking, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

thebibliobibuli's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Vomit

billyjepma's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

A much better entry than the last one, though not without the typical bevy of "yeah, a straight white man definitely wrote this." The worldbuilding kicks back into high gear, and it rules. Sapkowski gets to dig into the politics of his cruel fantasy world and develop the different factions scheming against each other. I'm a sucker for that stuff, so obviously, it worked for me. His action scenes are also stellar, as per usual, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of how much specificity he invests in the quick but brutal bouts of combat. 

Not all of the development lands, and Sapkowski would benefit from a slightly more ruthless editor. And, again, the way he writes his women characters is a big ol' mixed bag. Sometimes, it's really good, and I genuinely appreciate how complex his cast's morality and motivations are, men and women alike. He doesn't suffer from cliches in that way. What he does suffer from are many of the other problems that plague most fantasy penned by male writers. He relies far too heavily on the sexuality and violence the women are defined by or threatened with. These issues aren't as pronounced as in the last book, but they're still here, and I don't see them miraculously disappearing moving forward. 

Still, I enjoyed this immensely, and my fascination and investment in the Witcher series are here to stay.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide and Vomit

bookaholic_in_wonderland's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Cursing and Pedophilia

bailey1196's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, War, and Injury/Injury detail

catriona99674's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This is definitely my least favourite of the Witcher books so far. It felt like mostly exposition. The random POVs made the pacing odd and it ended in a very strange place. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

chronographia's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Vomit

rachaelbunny's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Trafficking