Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

24 reviews

nerdatlas5's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-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

4.25

No spoilers: however a small warning about potential triggers: there is instances of body dysmorphophobia, xenophobia, PTSD, and most notably it was very descriptive of gore. Like I felt a little queasy listening to it. I only noticed it twice towards the end, but because the book is centered around a healer attempting to cure an unknown illness, it is does deal a lot with the body anatomically throughout. I liked it, but if you're not comfortable with that this might not be the book for you.

With that aside, I really enjoyed this. I listened to it on audiobook and while at first I thought that this was just set up for a larger series with not a lot moving it forward plot wise, it proved me wrong. Firuz and the rest of the cast of characters were pretty well fleshed out. Since the first half of the book was setting up the conflicts of the latter half, we spent a lot of time in Firuz's head exploring the complex relationships between them and their brother, mentor, and the teen they start to teach blood magic to. Despite references to their mom, she is notably absent throughout the book, and considering there is established friction between them I would have liked to see mom more.

I also feel like the antagonist's reasons for doing what they did wasn't as thought out as I would have liked. Like there's a gap between the person they were before we knew their whole plan, and after it unravels, like they weren't the same person. It would have been nice to maybe have a moment or 2 of Firuz in a longer conversation with them, and perhaps that would have tied the motivation more clearly to the character better.

The setting was well developed too. The setting is inspired by the author's background, and you can see that in the world's treatment of refugees based on their ethnicity and the class struggles, yet it also still maintains its sense of fantasy through the magic system. I would be glad to see more from this world if the author continues with it.

I think the audiobook itself was good; I've learned that I can only listen to audiobooks in the car. Anywhere else and I get too distracted to pay attention lol. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

zydecovivo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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? No

4.0

I started seeing this book on tons of list for it's asexual and nonbinary representation, so I decided to read it. 

 

The story follows Firuz, a refugee who seeks to become a healer due to their magical abilities. However, Firuz must hide their main magical talents, which is blood healing. Firuz and their family's struggle to get by in a society that hates and fears refugees. There are also mystery illnesses spreading among the patients that Firuz is desperate to find the cause of. 

 

I will admit that it took me a lot of reading to get into this story. While the world seems interesting, I found it difficult to read due to the blatant xenophobia the characters face. And the climatic mystery does not really appear until the final section of the story. This was a very short novel, but I wonder if it would have benefitted from being expanded since I already found the novella length difficult. I did not really understand the magical systems or history that I felt was required to empathize with both our protagonists and antagonists. However, after reading the author's description of the story, attempting to imagine a place where the colonizer is displaced and colonized, I feel better about the story as a whole. Firuz is explicitly nonbinary and asexual, with supporting characters that are also queer and this is one of the few LGBTQ stories I've read that is not a romance. It was a good start and I would be interested in reading similar stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Bullying, Genocide, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: War

flyinglark's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious 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

3.75

The Bruising of Qilwa is a snapshot into the queer-normative fantastical Persian-inspired world. Naseem Jamnia always intended it to be a novella, but their worldbuilding left me hungry for more. The magic systems were easy to grasp and rooted in the science we know. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

onegalonelife27's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I found the plot interesting with Firuz being really kind; trying their best to take care of their family by making a living as healer, hiding their true magical abilities in their new country, and figuring out the cause of a new plague emerging in their new country.

I also liked the way the story was format, dividing Firuz's story into three chapters or years. First, the first year with them trying to get a job as a healer and adjusting to their new life. The second focusing on the new plague spreading on their relationship with their brother and student. The last one a dramatic conclusion to everything! 

Though I have to admit, I do feel this book does more telling and showing. Like different parts of characters' backstory are just told to the reader at certain moments with not much hinting. The backstories make sense, but I'd prefer to not be used as dramatic fodder. 

Overall, pretty good if you want a different kind of fantasy story that keeps you on your toes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Dysphoria

Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War

Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

bea__reads's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Genocide, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Child death, Torture, and Dysphoria

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Colonisation

toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

Really well executed book that engages both magic and empire in a way I haven't often seen done! I'm always excited for magic-as-science and this definitely fit the bill. Also really liked how gender and transition was handled with this, where it was relevant to the characters and the story but not necessarily the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Racial slurs, Self harm, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War

quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Dysphoria

Minor: Vomit and Fire/Fire injury

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Genocide, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Hate crime, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury