kurumipanda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, War, Classism, and Grief
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Confinement
talasterism's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
5.0
oh yes i would like to add something. i am so happy this cover was so pretty that it made me not only add the book on scribd but also actually start it and fall in love with it. first of all. the cover is just the best cover out there. im so insanely obsessed with the colours and the lines and ugh ugh ugh.
second, the book itself. first obviously the biggest plus is the kid and their magic beast bond trope which i MISSED so much in my life. however, it is not even a magic bond that binds them, but hard work, love, & hours of gentle care that were put into the bond that make it ever so magical in a different way. she is the beast player BECAUSE SHE PLAYS MUSIC FOR THEM trying to imitate their language!!! lon lon lon..... i found the worldbuilding sexy in a way that is simple and understandable on a surface level yet has a lot of nuance. the politics were great, and time after time after time i was baffled to see the themes in the childrens book/very pos. the disgust she has for people who take animals and use them as tools in the war and be kept in captivity?? gahhhh. #justveganthings /hj. NO BUT HOW SHE HATES THE SILTEN WHISTLE. how if she COULD she would desotry it, at the very core. how strongly she feels about it, how right she is.
her relatiosnhips with other people & the side characters themselves always felt so real. but elin and leelan... the real gems of the book. the whole spiel of what every creature knows is not love but fear... wait lemme see if i can find it
"Where would her love for Leelan, the tentative, step-by-step efforts she had made to get closer to her, lead her now? Had it all been for nothing, just self- gratification? Perhaps. Esalu had probably been right—the one emotion all living creatures shared was not love, but fear. This, most likely, was the hard truth. Men, beasts, all sentient beings that inhabited the planet, were incapable of trust. Somewhere in their hearts, they would always harbor the fear of others. To ensure their own survival, they would continue to devise ways to dominate and control. Only by binding each other with force, with laws, with religious precepts… and with the Silent Whistle, do we finally feel safe… No matter how hard I study the nature of living things, in the end, that’s all I will find—just this empty futility." (but ALSO how when Esalu told her shes naive to not think that and she might as well write her will and ELIN GAVE HER HER WILL THE NEXT DAY?? fucking icon)
second, the book itself. first obviously the biggest plus is the kid and their magic beast bond trope which i MISSED so much in my life. however, it is not even a magic bond that binds them, but hard work, love, & hours of gentle care that were put into the bond that make it ever so magical in a different way. she is the beast player BECAUSE SHE PLAYS MUSIC FOR THEM trying to imitate their language!!! lon lon lon..... i found the worldbuilding sexy in a way that is simple and understandable on a surface level yet has a lot of nuance. the politics were great, and time after time after time i was baffled to see the themes in the childrens book/very pos. the disgust she has for people who take animals and use them as tools in the war and be kept in captivity?? gahhhh. #justveganthings /hj. NO BUT HOW SHE HATES THE SILTEN WHISTLE. how if she COULD she would desotry it, at the very core. how strongly she feels about it, how right she is.
her relatiosnhips with other people & the side characters themselves always felt so real. but elin and leelan... the real gems of the book. the whole spiel of what every creature knows is not love but fear... wait lemme see if i can find it
Spoiler
Spoiler
this made me tear up so much:
Spoiler
the book is such a gem such a masterpiece and i have underlined maybe a third of it. i will share one last thing, the poetry of the beast player on the last pages that made me weep and love it more.
Spoiler
third in recouting but by far not in importance was the dear & fond memory of taking this book to see ennie, this book that had just arrived on the day i was leaving to see them, on the train, and on the couch in the morning with my cute lil coloured pencils, and on the twenty something minute ride of me retelling it in all the jumbled detail and out of order mess & how they listened & they cared in their cute lil white shepe coat with their cute lil smile and questions and just perfectly right comments. thats just the vibes my lads.
Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Sexism
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