Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Rosalera by Tade Thompson

7 reviews

mdegge's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

Aliens, psychics, mystery, broken timeline! Tough to rate... Definitely dark. The plot and world building are good. I am excited to see where the series goes with these dynamics. I wish there were a more likeable character in the story, but the main character is kind of neutral. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Police brutality

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

Minor: Homophobia and Stalking

zosiablue's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

Ah man the story is so cool and inventive - aliens invade via some mycological ideaspace & there's now a secret police force full of psychics who use the ideaspace to read minds & kick ass, in Nigeria. The US hasn't been heard from in 45 years! But the main character is so sexist and obnoxious and uncharming that it's almost unbearable to read. The author is clear that the MC isn't necessarily likable and is way flawed, but it just didn't land and ruined the story for me. I won't keep reading the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, and War

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

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

This is a really unique alien invasion story set in Nigeria in the 2060s, in a city that has built up around an alien biodome that mysteriously heals the sick once per year. The alien has also released a sort of spore into the atmosphere that allows some people to access special abilities like mind reading. The main character is a psychic who (mostly unwillingly) works for the government. His perspective is awful because he's an immature misogynist, but the story itself and the nature of colonization that it exposes are interesting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Cannibalism

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

I'm waffling between a 3.5 and a 4 ⭐s on this one. It is a fascinating and wholly original start to a sci-fi series set in Nigeria and following a biological alien lifeform that changes the makeup of Earth itself???? And then there's like people with telepathic powers???? And spy stuff???? And government conspiracies???? And I loved it???? The writing style was definitely different, it took a bit for me to get used to it. Also our MC is not the most likeable of bros. But overall, I enjoyed this immensely and will be continuing the series and reading more from Tade Thompson.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

v171's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

This was an incredibly engaging, interesting read from start to finish. I have been on a New Weird kick recently, and I think Rosewater has set the standard. Everything about this book's construction was spot on. The writing was accessible, but not bland. The characters all felt distinctly human. The aliens felt "appropriately" alien. The setting across real world African locations and fictional areas was interesting to follow. If I had only one critique, it was that the story was a bit touch and go, but with how engaging it was, I didn't mind at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Medical trauma

Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, and Death of parent