Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

3 reviews

jinmichae's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It's really well written, and an interesting story of the main character warring with her identity and what she's become. But it just wasn't for me. I'm too much of a romantic who wants happy endings after succeeding against the odds, and this is a tale of how cruel reality can be. There isn't always a happy ending, and sometimes the sum of all your scheming is just emptiness and a polite defeat.

My main problem I should have seen coming: it's hard to feel sympathy for or connected with a main character who's a fairly ruthless pirate, even if she internally struggles with her actions, or isn't as terrible as others she nonetheless allies with. She wants to fight against the emperor's stranglehold on the country, but what does that mean to the individual peasants? They either die of the emperor's famine, or the ones caused by her raids.

I guess that's part of the book's message about the cruelty of society and fate, so go into the book expecting such. It was my own hope for something more like Robin Hood that disappointed me, not the actual story.
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vonya45's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

"Grief had the quality of a cast fishing line sometimes. In hand at the start, reaching the zenith only once it was in the distance and not subsiding until even farther out, until it had traversed so much space as to have lost its force. Sometimes it never truly subsided."
I'm glad I got this as an audiobook instead of reading it. I might have gotten bogged down in trying to keep track of the quick action scenes or understanding the military maneuvers and pirate politics. Instead I was able to catch glimpses of bloody battles and complicated strategems, and see past them into what the story was really about. 
The view into the mind of a pirate queen is a striking one. How does a intelligent but regular girl become a master tactician and a cold blooded killer? The author did a marvelous job at answering this question without making the main character into a caricature of a murderous pirate, or on the other end of the spectrum, a one-dimensional "strong female character" with no flaws who is somehow always morally upstanding despite being a dangerous warlord. Shek Yeung enjoys killing those she believes deserves it, in the midst of battle or otherwise. When she slits the throat of suspected spies, she never gets confirmation on those suspicions, and neither does the audience. She makes choices based on what is best for her and what keeps or gains her power. She even becomes a wife and mother in order to keep that power. Yet she still has relateable feelings about her motherhood, wanting what's best for her children and feeling inadequate to care for them. She shows tenderness and care towards her husband despite their marriage being a strategic decision. She is a strong and powerful figure, but still shows empathy and compassion toward strangers. She is looking out for her best interests but she cares about her friends. She uses the patriarchal system to her advantage but her reflections on womanhood are incredibly impactful feminist perspectives. 
The book does not give easy answers on any of its themes, but its deep dive into the main character's psyche is to be admired. I gave it a 3.5 because it is not really my kind of book, I am not a fan of having this much darkness or callousness in a story, and I don't like pregnancy/motherhood themes. Yet the book was well written and an enjoyable listen.
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sydapel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Less of a fantasy adventure than I was expecting, but deeply interesting all the same. While there's a lot of action in this book, the heart of it focuses on how the main character  navigates her leadership position in a deeply misogynistic and dangerous society, trying to hold on to the only power she's ever held while still attempting to do right by her fleet. I was especially impress with how the author presents the grey morality of Shek Yueng decisions - punishment is swift, harsh and often shocking but she's constantly trying to save the most people she can. The story leaves so much open for discussion about femininity, violence, revenge, motherhood, power, etc not just through the lens of these characters and this time, but in ways that are still relevant today. 
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