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flyinglark's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I enjoyed how Firuz was a relatively "normal" protagonist, a thirty-year-old provider for their family who fled from their home country and does not rock the boat. Jamnia also highlights the nuances of immigration and being prideful of one's culture, as they mention, "[w]hat does it mean to be oppressed when you were once an oppressor."
I look forward to future work from this author, especially future works in this world.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Physical abuse, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
bazer63's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
All in all a good book that could have used a couple dozen more pages to really flesh out the characters and world and make it great. Additonally, the author's thoughts at the end are worth considering and I'm open to the idea that someone of a different background could connect to the themes more than I did.
Graphic: Blood and Medical content
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Minor: Physical abuse and Dysphoria
prosenheim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Self harm
trickphoenix's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
There were way too many plots going on for a novella, and I felt they didn't get enough time individually to develop. The medical mystery itself I found compelling and it kept me going through the rest, but the interpersonal drama was tense and frustrating without feeling particularly cathartic, and there was never quite enough context given to drive home any of the points about imperialism and changing cultural identity as oppressor vs oppressed, which is a shame since the author seemed to be so thoughtful and knowledgeable on those topics! There just wasn't enough pages to really explore them.
The writing itself was also sometimes confusing; I found myself going back to re-read a few lines to see if I missed some context connecting the thoughts, but didn't find any connection between the two lines at all.
I really liked the extremely diverse inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters, and the seamless inclusion of introductory pronouns and neo-pronouns. I also found the magic system very interesting, and I was excited for the setting. But ultimately I think the delivery wasn't quite there yet. I'd definitely be interested in reading more work from this author to see how they grow and improve though.
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Physical abuse, Self harm, and Torture
lovealwaysadi's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Physical abuse and Violence
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria
historic_wince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Genocide, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic
perditorian's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Xenophobia and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Dysphoria
fareehareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For such a short piece of fiction, the world building in this book was immediately easy to pick up and felt quite grounded. The idea of environmental magic, blood magic, and structuralists had basic rules to function and limitations that wouldn't make any magic user all powerful.
The mentor and student relationship between Afsoneh, an untrained blood adept (magic user) and Fairuz an inexperienced teacher was so heartwarming. The difficulties Fairuz faced simply through lack of access and fear of something going terribly wrong were frustrating and so real. I felt for each of these characters so heavily. This book is heartwarming, raw, emotional, and at some points downright gruesome. If you don't like medical procedures or tons of blood, skip this one! But if you want to explore an extremely unique magic system and learn a bit about the refugee experience through fiction, this is the one for you.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
opossumble's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury