Reviews with content warning for Murder - An Unkindness of Magicians

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard

19 reviews

driftinggrav's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I was not a huge fan of this book. The pacing was rushed and the focus of the plot was not very clear. The characters were well developed individuals though the pov slipped between too many too often in my opinion. Interesting magic system. I liked that there had to be an equal exchange--power for pain.

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amfrtsedi's review

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dark medium-paced

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

4.0

Kat Howard’s regular feminist themes and dark fantasy setting are again central here.

Not quite as tightly written as her excellent short story collection, A Cathedral of Blood and Bone, the story hooks you in, keeps moving at good pace, and has an intriguing and engaging main character in Sydney.

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linguisticali's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

3.0

I actually really enjoyed this despite its flaws. The writing style included way too many sentence fragments, there was a little head hopping within the many POVs, and, most frustratingly, the scenes were so short that the book often felt like an outline. Even things that should have been major, high-stakes plot events were rushed, depriving them of any real weight.

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imds's review

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

3.5

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sakeriver's review

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dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

I’ve had this on my shelf a long time, and I wonder if it would have hit the same if I’d read it back when I first bought it. A story about a person seeing a rotten system and actually tearing it down has a certain extra catharsis in 2024, I think.

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stories's review

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challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Wow. Dad recommended this book and he was right. Certainly designed to be read more at once than episodically, with a large, cast of complex relationships. A satisfying mixture of political intrigue, morality and magical wonders in a battle-to-the-death equivalent of this magical world’s election cycle.

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theliteraryhooker's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I love Howard's writing, but the pacing was a bit off with this one. Certain pieces dragged while others felt way too rushed, especially towards the end of the book. An interesting magic system though and I enjoyed the characters quite a bit, especially Sydney!

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