Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Jordens Søjler by Ken Follett

37 reviews

expandingmybookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

cheazcakeguy's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I only finished this because I read it for a book club. Way too much unnecessarily explicit SA & pedophilia (just because it's "historically accurate" does not mean I want to read full details of a 14-year-old being r*ped by someone twice her age), characters were mostly one dimensional and often more like caricatures, and the pacing was uneven. The plot and the character Philip were the only things keeping me going, as it is ultimately a good story. The descriptions of the cathedral and the building process were also great. However, all of the tension and story beats ended up feeling super repetitive and recycled, and for the last couple hundred pages I was rolling my eyes at the dramatic twists and turns which felt contrived and meaningless at that point. I really wanted to love this book, but ultimately it was unremarkable. Hard to recommend, unless you like to read soap operas with one-note characters and you're okay with repeated graphic SA. I suppose if you *really* like drama and architecture, and have extreme patience, this is the book for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Emotional abuse and War

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and War

sophiaoquias's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

sonygaystation's review against another edition

So many parts of it are boring and when they’re not boring they’re exceedingly graphic. Sex scenes are wholly unnecessary and always written with the male gaze so the woman’s perspective is so unrealistic. I can’t deal with the graphic rape, assault, and abuse; the graphic descriptions of stoning cats; the unrealistic and boring “love” between Tom and Ellen; and the weirdo random anti-semitism sprinkled here and there throughout. I LOVE fantasy but I don’t understand how people can stomach this book and find it not only read-able but actively enjoyable. Y’all have suspect taste

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry

thesadhen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

delvesinshelves's review against another edition

I spent quite a while weighing the merits of this book and my own interest in the material against the gratuitous rape scenes and obscene misogynistic perspectives. 
I don’t shy away from challenging books, but there has to be a strong why when it comes to this degree of sexual violence. 
The most recent series  I read with content of this sort is the Poppy War trilogy, which deliberately covers a parallel to the rape of nanking. 
This book is not covering real historical events, and not all of the rape/attempted rape seems to be serving a purpose of any kind in the story. 
I was really excited to read about the building of a historical cathedral over the decades, but I think this book may be harmful without sufficient redeeming qualities for me to push through. DNF. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage

siniandi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I understand that this is one of Follett's most beloved works. It is a densely packed work spanning several decades; the plot is nicely interwoven with historical elements and makes one reflect on power structures and injustices that in some form persist to this day. I honestly loved most of the characters and the way the flaws of even the "good" characters reflect in the story. Follett makes sure to create a strong female protagonist, which I love. She seems believable and strong and wields power in ways realistic for the era.

The description of women and sex scenes are a quite male gaze-y though (as is usually the case in Follett's work) and the ending comes a little abrupt and too neatly, as if he really wanted to finish after 1000 pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism

snd1101's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

merisavale's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I loved this book. It reminded me of game of thrones a lot. It was filled with complex politics, old rivalries, and had a surprising amount of gore and violence for a book principally concerning the building of a cathedral. The only think keeping me from giving it a full 5/5 stars is the few times when I rolled my eyes at the way female characters were written. BUT on the whole the author did a spectacular job including a variety of interesting female characters who were powerful while still staying true to the realities of life in the 1000’s. You also learn so much about how cathedrals are built which I also loved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

joey1914's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Abandonment