Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Servant Mage by Kate Elliott

6 reviews

secondhandbookshelves's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

I did not enjoy this one. 
I read it over two days and could not tell you much about it except that there are five different types of mages, a war between monarchy vs libertarians, and that babies can be dragons. 
The characters moods, tones & personalities wildly change throughout the story, but the main character did start and end with the same thought - making it home.
Also cows fight demons.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ceruleanseas's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Fellian is a servant mage, blessed with the power of fire magic, but not with the social standing to be treated well by the new Liberationist government who killed her parents for sedition. When a Monarchist resistance  group offers her the opportunity to escape her servitude, she takes it. What follows is a short and exciting story of the attempted rescue of a thousand refugees and a royal baby, and one woman's journey to find her place in the world. 

The world building here is spot on, giving just enough detail to keep the story moving but not so much that it bogs down the narrative with exposition. The characters have complex and competing motivations that make the ending interesting, if not entirely surprising. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

misterwisp's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Short but quite good! Things play out in a satisfying way. It's a story about being on the bottom of society and whether or not who is in power means anything behind the rhetoric. The world building is quietly efficient. I felt like the characters were well evoked and it was easy to tell what was going on with them. I feel like this escapes some usual fantasy cliches and tropes. It's my first Kate Elliott book and I'm left interested in trying more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Classism

Moderate: Trafficking and Grief

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

a baby is killed, but the scene is over quickly and the details are not lingered on or over-described

lacee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

mandkips's review

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Murder

bookishlysimsy's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Slavery

Representation: Side Polyamory (multiple)