Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Il custode del drago by Robin Hobb

4 reviews

kaziaroo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

I'm never sure how I feel about multiple-POV books but this is one of the best examples I've seen of it done right. One minute I would be swayed by one POV's rose-tinted impression of another character, only to have that impression blown out of the water by seeing that character's own perspective in the next chapter. The characters' duplicitousness and reactions to each other made the story thrilling and tense, even when plotwise things were progressing slowly. I loved every second.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and Pregnancy

Several detailed descriptions of handling and eating meat (both fresh and cooked).

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, and Cannibalism

Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sassmistress's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

It's a very slow-paced book, but the writing is really enticing. Definitely gets a little more exciting towards the end and ends on a cliffhanger. Most of the slowness seems to come from weaving the backstories needed for the various characters. I like the subtle pro-life themes, Austen-style society, and expert emotional manipulation by the author. Would rate higher but for the graphic sexual content. 

Reminds me of A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, if you're looking for more of the Bingtown/Alise story line. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Death, Slavery, and Alcohol

Emotional abuse from a spouse and from a parent, lying (nearly to the point of gaslighting) about an affair. Three graphic sex scenes-- one an unpleasantly dutiful consummation of marriage, one martial rape, and one violent fade-to-black between the two men having the aforementioned affair. Heavy prejudice based on "birth defects" for which infants are normally abandoned to die, injuries are described in detail--pus, cutting away putrified flesh, pulling out a sick dragon's scales and impaling to siphon blood, and

touching the blood flow and tasting it.

Descriptions of the effects of war and gentrification. Lots of prejudice (besides visible birth differences, there is also some racial/national prejudice). An uncomfortable amount of mysogyny/sexism, both systemic and individual.

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Despite reading a lot of fantasy, I haven't been that attracted to dragon stories because the creatures have always felt a little too perfect and fantastical for my taste. But that's not the cause with Robin Hobb's dragons. These are sick, pitiful creatures who, yes, may gulp down a human in a heartbeat, but also need their help to survive. Yet the humans don't see kindly to them. When the dragons don't fill the roles they'd been ascribed by legends and folk tales, when they keep to the ground and only consume precious resources, the Rain Wild Traders decide to drive them away. A group of misfits is hired to accompany them, just as undesirable as the dragons. 
Dragon Keeper opens the Rain Wild Chronicles and shows another facet of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings. Where Fitz's books are about identity and Liveships about freedom, I find this series to be about ableism & free will. Dragon Keeper is more like Liveships than Farseer because of the wide array of narrators we get, but here they're all traveling together and so I find it easier, upon first reading it, to get one's bearings and dive in the story. While it's not my favourite of Robin Hobb's stories, I love how her characters interact and how she makes us love some of them and absolutely hate others. My favourite may be the quiet dragon scholar lady... 
Rep: one of the MCs is gay, but the atmosphere of the book feels quite queer in general. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault and Alcohol