Reviews tagging Body horror

The Merciless Ones, by Namina Forna

8 reviews

oliverjordan's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

I had no doubt that this would have been just as good as the first book. This is such an exceptional world of fantasy and I love every moment I’m in it

It was really hard to read some parts and there is considerable a lot more gore and horror but it was (in my opinion) very necessary for the plot and the development of the characters 

Even for a Y/A fantasy book. The author doesn’t dance around what’s happening, how things are interconnected and referring to events that we know occurs in life. It’s shocking and mortifying but written so well. 

Spoiler

 I loved the plot line of the Indugu and the Gilded Ones. Being connected to each other was so damn good. I may not have known wtf was going on but it just made it so much easier to remain with Deka’s character because she also didn’t know what was going on

Also thank god the boys are immortal. I was nearly sobbing when Keita had his throat slashed. And Ixa isn’t allowed to die. Like ever. Never

  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

librarybookscene's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, War, and Sexism

Moderate: Abandonment and Blood

Minor: Body shaming, Gore, Death of parent, and Body horror

anniereads221's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Gore, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Blood, and Sexism

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia

charmedvibes's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Injury/injury detail, and Torture

lucy_shanners's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, War, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Injury/injury detail

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Pregnancy and Transphobia

lochnessvhs's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Gore

plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.5

I read The Gilded Ones last year and absolutely loved it, which marked The Merciless Ones as one of my most anticipated 2022 releases. While I did enjoy it, for the most part, I can’t say that I loved it to the same extent I did its predecessor. Because as much as I adored Deka and the other alaki and all of their uruni, as intriguing and fast-paced as the very beginning and very end of the novel were, regrettably, I found the middle portion of the book kind of boring and hard to push through. I’m not actually sure if that’s because of the book itself or my on-again-off-again reading slump, but either way, it hindered my reading experience.

That being said, I still think Namina Forna is an incredible writer—she’s created a brilliant protagonist and supporting cast, an absolutely adorable romance, and a fascinatingly intricate world. Her plot twists are mind-blowing; I swear, I spent the last 25% of this book in shock, and at one point I nearly threw my phone across the room. (I read an ebook.)

Also, I just want to take a second to shriek—DEKA AND KEITA ARE ADORABLEEEE. 🥹🥹💗💗

Okay, got that out of my system. 😮‍💨😮‍💨

Anyway. Despite not being completely sold on this sequel, I’m excited (slash scared) to see how she’ll end this trilogy, and certain that the finale will be spectacular. If you haven’t read this series yet, do it ASAP!!! (But check the content warnings first, bc damn, these books get brutal.)

Representation

• full cast of brown/Black characters
• multiple queer main + side characters (includes sapphic, achillean, + trans rep, as well as a nonbinary character that uses they/them pronouns)
• two sapphic side couples

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Blood, Gore, Body horror, and Misogyny

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Homophobia

Most of the main cast are dealing with PTSD in some form; Deka's is especially bad and occasionally leads to panic attacks. There’s multiple on-page scenes including and/or references to decapitation, various forms of mutilation, and being burned alive, as well as one on-page parent death and references to past deaths of side characters’ parents/families. Lastly, while the main cast is wholly accepting of one another, there are discussions of the homophobic society some characters used to live in.

kilic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, and Grief