Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Babel, an Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

571 reviews

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ethuiliel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Drug use

svtephreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.25

I didn’t like the ending. It was too abrupt and unsatisfying. But the rest was great and it was the right level of fantasy for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

scarletkeiller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.5

This was an unbelievable read. The stakes are so high and despairingly real. Kuang's writing is exceptional and she manages to make a work of speculative fiction feel like a true historical text. This world is so well crafted and I can do nothing but sing Babel's praises! The further I got into the book, the more I would read in one sitting because the tension was nauseating.

Things happen so suddenly (just as they do in real life), often with no closure, no time to process what has happened. Characters don't get to say what they need to say, confess what they want to confess. They are there one moment and then they are gone. This would be a five star read for me, but I feel the epilogue takes away from the emotional impact of the final chapter. You want to sit with these feelings of grief and horror about the state of the world, the hopelessness and the injustice, and then you are ripped out of it by a violent tone change. It just felt like an anticlimax. After such an exceptional book it felt odd to end on such a flat note. Also, creating what seems like a slow burn queer romance b-plot, only for both characters to be killed off before they can ever really acknowledge how they felt for one another (even if just to themselves) felt a bit of a waste. That part of the story definitely could have been developed more. The book was quite sexless in general so I wish it had either built on the queer story or kept their relationship as a strong friendship instead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: War

carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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? No

4.25

 Excellently written and researched, loved the footnotes, but, and I hate to say it, I docked points for petty reasons.

As soon as Ramy and Robin met, I was like “don’t be a coward and make them gay”. Instead, she fucking killed Ramy (well, I guess she killed them both). I almost DNFd because of this. And like, ok, she did throw in that line on the last page about Robin falling in love. And like, ok, it was obvious (to me) that they were more than platonic besties the whole time. And like, ok, there was no explicit romance, het or otherwise, in the book. But still, if you’re not gonna let them kiss, at least don’t kill them 🥲. like yes, whatever, romantic tragedy, my love dies I go on a grief fueled rampage whatever whatever. Letty Price, you incel ass, you better not let me catch you in these streets.

Was really disappointed that, given the parallels between Griffin’s cohort and Robin’s, she chose to take Letty in the same direction as Evie. I think it would have been more subversive if Letty DIDNT betray them literally two pages after we found out Evie did the same.

Ok, maybe this is childish (I did say I docked points for petty reasons!), but DAMN, did she have to kill everyyyyyone what the fuck. I feel like she lost her thesis at times? It was difficult to understand the point she was trying to make. IS violent rebellion the only solution or no? IS martyrdom as a way to get the (white) man to take you seriously valid/fair or no? Maybe I just lack reading comprehension skills, but if most of your characters are dead by the last chapter of your book, their sacrifice painted as the only path to success, but you are ambiguous about the outcome AND the character you leave alive was the most levelheaded and logical, what am I supposed to believe about the necessity of violence?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Car accident

eleos01's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

kmoz's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Slavery and War

jadeleonardo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was so good!! The beginning is definitely slow, but I thought the pacing of the book worked well for this particular story. 

the pacing was a reflection of Robin seeing his life in London and mundane and ordinary. The pacing begins to pickup after he kills his father; the point at which there could be no return to the life he lived before becoming aware of what the silver trade really entailed.

I will say, there were several things that were quite obvious, but again, it worked for the story. And there was enough tension to keep you thinking that MAYBE those things wouldn’t happen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Slavery, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

lizzie24601's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Grief, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bengibbreid's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A beautiful journey of a book. Hit me extremely hard, whilst also being immersive and fascinating at every turn. I highly commend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism