Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

14 reviews

cuteasamuntin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Genocide, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and War

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Murder, and Dysphoria

winged's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and Classism

k_aro's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I took the longest to finish Nona the Ninth, not really out of Nona's failings or anything, I just couldn't get into the groove of having a whole bunch of narratives at once at the same time as an entire new cast of characters/new world. I also think it's the book that's easiest for me to tackle in The Locked Tomb series, both having a better grasp of the writing style/world as well as being structured a little more accessibly.

Off the bat, Nona's internal narrative is much more loving and caring than Gideon and Harrow, which is to say I spent so much more of GtN and HtN actively being confused and annoyed by the various characters, where in Nona they're a lot more understandable. NtN really does pull out to look at what the TLT-verse looks like outside of the Houses (and to a certain degree that life outside of them are in fact so fruitful and lively, which is something I just couldn't really imagine previously).

Ianthe is worse than ever, which is a compliment because I love how terrible she is. Muir really excels at the most horrifying relationships, experienced through shreds of narrative. I agree that NtN really feels like a prologue, but frankly a prologue to what I could not say; this seems to be a running TLT joke where each book is just more confusing and more disorienting than the last. Truly, I could not imagine what Alecto will do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War

Minor: Terminal illness

Terminal Illness:

Well, whether Nona's illness is terminal per se is up for interpretation, I guess.

bluestjuice's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

Oh my goodness. Sometimes a book just crawls inside your consciousness in the best way, you know? This is like that - this isn't the book I was expecting, and I had no idea what was going on through the first third and even less idea through the second third - but godsdamn, I was unquestioningly committed and on board for the entire ride. 

Nona is so, incredibly, real. This is one of Muir's great talents - despite writing a series that is utterly over-the-top space melodrama with gothic elements and skeletons and necromantic flourishes all over everything, they nevertheless create people that feel and act utterly peopley. Many authors can't convincingly write youthful characters even in ordinary circumstances; Muir portrays Nona's uncomprehending childishness in a way that is genuine and feels both true to the experience of the young without being the least bit saccharine. I loved Nona, entirely, and her protagonism resonated with me vigorously despite the twisty, adult, machination-y web of deceit and plotting that surrounded her nearly every step of the way. 

This is the third book in the series, which I have waited for a long time, and which I should clearly have bothered to do a re-read of previous to this because the lore here is deep and the references are layered in as thickly as Griddle's skull makeup back in <i>Gideon the Ninth</i>. On the other hand, having now skidded out the other side (I'm not kidding: I read the last 100 pages in a rare frenzy of <i><b>you don't understand I cannot put this down until I know what happens</b></i>), I have a burning desire to go re-read everything through again, to line up pieces and notice all the many things I'm sure I missed or didn't realize the significance of at the moment they were deployed.

Anyway, I don't even feel qualified to review this really because my emotions are leaking out all over the place and I don't know what to say to explain how enjoyable I find this series and this installment. In all its infuriating circuitous mystery. I can't believe I have to keep waiting to find out what happens next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War

Minor: Child death, Eating disorder, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

black_rainbow's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Dysphoria, and War

iane_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Trafficking, Car accident, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and War

traa's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria

Minor: Cannibalism

lisa_m's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so good! I loved Gideon the Ninth and I wasn't completely happy with Harrow the Ninth. Nona blew me away! I was extremely confused in the beginning but I just loved Nona's POV. It was same world we kind of knew already but from such a different and unique child like perspective which was super interesting to read about.
I need the next book soo badly!!! The ending just confused me but also I feel like this is the first time I kind of understand what is happening. I feel like every new book in this series is so unique and you're going to be confused in the beginning no matter what. So I definitely need to reread the first three books before reading Alecto. I do hope we get some final answers in that book though.

Since the first book Palamedes and Camilla have been my favourite characters. I obviously loved Gideon and the others as well but Camilla and Palamedes just have a truly special place in my heart. I am so happy that we got to know a bit more in this book. All of their emotional moments in this book just ruined me! I was so close to crying multiple times because of them. I just want to have a relationship like theirs someday. It is so beautiful. I'm really interested to learn more about Paul. I don't think I could ever like him as much as P&C but who knows.

I also really enjoyed Johns backstory. It was so interesting to read about. I still don't like him but it gave me so much more information about him and his story and motifs. Also it made me even more excited for Alecto.

What I did not understand though was Nonas 'death'? Was she Harrow + the Body in a weird mix that got a new consciousness? That was at least the way I explained it to myself. Maybe we will get more information about that in the next book as well :)

The Locked Tomb series is definitely one of my all time favourite series and I'm pretty sure I will have to reread it at some point just to fully appreciate it and understand what is going on. :)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Dysphoria

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

blqckmyre's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Gore

Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Dysphoria