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rednikki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I generally bounce off books where all dialogue is paraphrased, but I was very interested in the period and the setting so I gave it a go. And man, I wish I had not. Most of the characters have very little personality, and they can be identified either by a skill or a deformity. (A couple of characters have Exactly One Quirk. Someone is very rude! Or someone is insane! Or someone is always very sweet! But only a few characters have a personality trait.) As a result, I mixed up the characters a lot.
The author lingered on gruesome death a lot. I get it, "it's 1183 and we're all barbarians!" (to quote The Lion in Winter), but it kind of felt like torture porn.
There were still interesting aspects to the book, and it would probably have been a 3.5 from me if it weren't for the last five pages.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and War
fictionandfauna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
yikeslou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Death
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
water_and_shade's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Pregnancy
edamamebean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
deebee223's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Torture, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Dementia
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and War
literarylion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
- A unique and refreshing take on historical fiction, especially medieval historical fiction
- Strong character development
- Groff's grasp of medieval verbiage and phrasing is precise but not overwhelming to the point of seeming cheap
- Extremely slow; frustratingly so at times
- The pacing and structure are a bit muddied; I wasn't clear on what separated each section from the next
- Pretty dense
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Sexism, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, War, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Alcohol
sincerelyleah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War
msjenne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail