Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

O Império Final by Brandon Sanderson

20 reviews

cerina's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring medium-paced

• 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

4.0

I loved this book. It scratched a similar itch as Red Rising did for me. I love books about social justice, rebellion, and the struggle against oppression. When I first started this book, I got a quarter of the way through it and I felt like nothing had happened, yet I was intrigued to see what would happen. Somehow it had a hold over me, though I couldn’t quite explain why. 

These characters are complex with many subtleties, and there is definitely great character development. I love Vin. She embodies women as I know them so well. Wanting to love, but scared to trust; intelligent, but careful; highly empathetic, able to see through how people present down to who they are. I both love and hate that this girl needs to be the more level-headed one that gets things done while the men are brash and fool-hardy. It feels representative of real-life, and I don’t like that that’s how things are. Though, as I write this, I’m realizing it might just be those parts of the book that resonate with me, which is why they stood out. The book might actually be more balanced, more nuanced, than that. 

When Kelsior’s big plan came to fruition, it felt so hollow. Like, that’s it? I understand the purpose of it, giving everyone something to believe in. I just didn’t feel anything when it happened. I didn’t cry. I can’t remember if I cried during the first Red Rising book. I know I cried during the third, and that the scene that made me do so is part of why it’s my favorite series. I’m holding out hope that a similar thing will happen as I continue reading this trilogy. 

The world building in this book is fantastic. It’s a combination of the depth of the world building, the relationships between the characters, and the twists that I didn’t see coming but that fit seamlessly into the story that makes me love this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Rape, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

thjelmar's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

First Brandon Sanderson book I've ever read and I must say I understand how he has such a large following as he does.

Mistborn consumed me from start to finish. Finding some chapters slower than others but once you dig into it it's hard to get yourself out of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

shadow_cat94's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

If you love outcasts banding together to plot a revolution with a dash of magic, then have I got a fantastic book recommendation for you!

I am so excited to learn that there are 7 - technically 8 - books in this series currently, because I just can't wait to see what happens to Vin and our crew. I have so many questions, but mainly

is Kelsier really dead or was that all a plan of his for inspiring his troops with a fake-out

?

Not everyone in the crew has deep backgrounds, but they feel fleshed out enough to where I didn't feel bothered by it and it made sense with the 3rd person style of writing Sanderson used.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Torture, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Infertility, and Death of parent

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

My first foray into the universe of Sanderson novels and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

As with any high fantasy series, this book had a good amount of world building with a fairly large cast of characters with a variety of roles to get to know. That part can feel like a bit of a slog, even in the best of novels, but Sanderson does it well. It feels natural and he builds on the information in a way that is digestible and intriguing.

I really like the magic system - it doesn’t feel too overdone - and the flaws of our heroes feel “real” instead of manufactured as they sometimes do. 

I was kept fairly on my toes about what would come next and appreciate the fact that Sanderson doesn’t shy away from putting his characters in tough situations - or killing then when necessary (I love an author unafraid of hurting his audiences heart with a good murder, what can I say?). 

I was seriously hooked the last 40% especially where I found it hard to put down as I waited to see if our band of rebels would be successful in pulling off this huge feat. While the writing is nothing spectacular, Sanderson can keep his readers hooked and the writing style worked for me surprisingly well. 

It was a satisfying ending and I can’t wait to pick up the next book in the Mistborn series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent

passionatereader78's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

knottygeek's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Body horror and Trafficking

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

This is a re-read and now that I have read more of the cosmere the little bits that nod and hint to other things are actually really fun to notice.  I still love the world building and the magic system but the characters are pretty meh.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ursimae's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.25

I quite enjoyed this book throughout. It’s fairly well thought out. It’s not perfect as many have suggested it is. However the characterizations and a good portion of the world building is done really well. These characters already are very memorable to me. I honestly can’t wait to get to the rest of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

There are references to the potential for SA throughout the book. Also, there’s literal references and allusions to slavery and the types of work involved in real life slavery also happening in this fictional world. The nobles are also quite misogynistic at times.

breezy17's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• 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

4.5

yet another set of magic powers i'll never have 😔

(but seriously this was just a great classic fantasy - great character writing, interesting world building, cool magic, and a plot that kept me hooked)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse