Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

10 reviews

beohbe's review

challenging 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

ashastoashes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The book was a bit slow to start, and not having had read the authors' other works I was worried that they some characters were either a bit cliched or did not have good insight into to their own judgement.

Let it be said I was delighted to find it was the latter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder

sr_marshrat's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

My favorite parts of Bacigalupi's works are his vividly believable dystopian landscapes, harsh predictions about the trajectory of our world if climate change is not addressed. But Water Knife's cautionary drought tale is overshadowed (and accordingly underdeveloped) by a James-Bond-style race-for-highly-valuable-object, rife with violence for shock value and improbable coicindences. What could have been a heart wrenching mystery centering on a tough-skinned orphan is instead a shallow action movie centered around two washed-up, and frankly less engaging, adults.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent

rockin_robyn's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

ndyl's review

dark fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

carissa230's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

In the future water is a scarce resource. Angel is a water knife. He goes into states or areas where there is water and cuts their access to give it to his boss Catherine Case in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is resplendent with water. 

Maria is from Texas. The worst state for water access. Maria has fled to Phoenix. Phoenix is doing terrible, but better than Texas. Maria is running from The Vet. The man that runs Phoenix and takes the money that people are able to collect. She hustles for survival, but she's not desperate enough to sell her body...yet. 

Lucy is a journalist. Lucy has documented the downfall of Phoenix. Most recently a friend of hers is brutally murdered and she makes it her mission to find out why. Lucy has seen the worst aspects of Phoenix and yet she stays to ensure the information she is allowed to release gets out to people. 

When the three lives converge nothing will ever be the same. Angel and Lucy work together to see her friend was killed and find what he had that was so valuable. Maria just tries to survive and keep herself safe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror

jrubi35's review

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Drug use

charlie_borowicz's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

uss_mary_shelley's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.25

'The Water Knife' by Paolo Bacigalupi. Once enthralled I really wanted to see where it went, and I'm glad it didn't go too big. I'm not sure I agree with the philosophy that guides the ends of the book but interesting none-the-less. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use

valyn_grebe's review

adventurous dark sad tense slow-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

3.0

It was a bit slow at the beginning, but began to pick up after the first 100 pages.  It was interesting book about a possible future where climate change ravages America.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Grief, and Car accident