Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Rosalera by Tade Thompson

19 reviews

cassie7e's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Fascinating worldbuilding/sci fi take. Love a setting that's not in the US or Europe. Works as a stand alone (thank goodness) though I will eventually continue the series.

The writing has a tone that feels very masculine and unrelatable to me (similar to how I felt about American Gods, though less offputting in this book), but books do not have to be relatable to be enjoyable! The weirdness kept me interested. Also I enjoy a nonlinear narrative. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Torture and Body horror

Minor: Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcohol, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

mine_gerber's review against another edition

dark funny tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Infidelity

Minor: Homophobia and Stalking

shostakofish's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.75

 Rosewater by Tade Thompson is the new rec for anyone looking for cyberpunk/alien contemplative scifi but in a new way. The author is British born Nigerian and so it has a really refreshing and new spin on what is usually a super cookie-cutter genre!

tbh i woulndt recommend it for completely new to the genre people because it specifically plays with tropes and is nonchronological narrative so it's not an easy starting point 

also the audiobook has some beautiful voice work but the aforementioned nonchronological narrative format can make it difficult to follow, I had to rewind a lot

also it says 'fuck trump' explicitly at one point

I'd say a TW peruse could be a good thing if you (or anyone you recommend it to) are sensitive to book triggers. But the author is pretty clearly very left/accepting. The characters/plot are just not nice. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Blood, Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Vomit, Sexual violence, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

librarianmage's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Torture and Blood

Minor: Homophobia

mar's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-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? No

3.5

really cool take on alien invasion/first contact! BIG fan the whole "telepathy" thing - telepathy is such a bizarrely common landmark of classic science fiction, and i loved seeing this book build on that legacy while actually adding a "science" aspect to it. kaaro's constant objectification of women was fucking exhausting tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical content, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death, and Vomit

Moderate: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Body horror, Child death, Homophobia, and Torture

Minor: Islamophobia, Rape, and Sexual harassment

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

The world building is excellent. I liked the shared mindspace created by alien fungus and enjoyed the book being set in Nigeria. The plot lost me a few times, but that's mostly because it was hard following the time jumps (between audio and the way I tend to process information). The side characters needed more characterization. I kept forgetting which woman was which. I did enjoy when one character told Kaaro that a woman in his life wasn’t a side character in his story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Medical content, Gun violence, Sexism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, and Confinement

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Drug use, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, Torture, War, Body horror, Excrement, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Classism, Blood, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

edensbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Gore

Moderate: Gun violence and Sexual harassment

Minor: Homophobia and Sexism

klfgasaway's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Sexual content

goosegrimm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

3.5

Rosewater is an interesting book. I'm not quite sure its my cup of tea however. I very much enjoyed Thompson's voice and his attention to detail in the setting. His prose is beautiful and really draws you in. However, the narrative is very disjointed and while that serves the overall story quite well, I had difficulty following even with the chapter headings. My suspension of disbelief was also occasionally broken both by the timeline changes and some of the plot points. Overall if you would like a genuinely fascinating sci-fi world to explore, this is a great fit. Just be warned that it can occasionally be difficult to follow despite how beautifully written it is. I am excited to read further works both in the Wormwood trilogy and by Thompson. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Torture, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Minor: Classism, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment