Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

41 reviews

qoutrot's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Racism

bean_7088's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? Yes

Oof... that was a rough one. 
Wanna be sad about the human race? Wanna feel fairly hopless? This one is for you!

It does end on a hopeful note... but like that hopefulness is somewhat undercut by the way the character speakin treated. 

This one had a lot of tense scenes I wanted to hide from. I had to stop a lot and explain what was going on to my roommate so I could get those jitters out. Like, a televised "discussion" between two different sides of the alien personhood debate. A hearing where unknown evidence comes up. 

Anyways, it was still really good. 

I'm not sure how I felt about Kaveh. And I'm not sure if it was how he was written or just his voice actor 😅 I'm sure the guy is normally fine, but the main voice actor Stephanie Willis is so incredible that switching to him is quite jarring. 

Waring that Cora goes through a lot, this poor kid traumatized over and over. And Stephanie Willis will make you feel it. Listening to Cora's Panic attacks was very distressing.

The ending left on such a wild note I am excited to see where the 3rd book will go. Now I just have to wait 7 months 🥲

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Grief, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Death, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Self harm, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

Lindsay Ellis does a big Content Warning before everything starts. At least in the audio book.

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Racism

Minor: Alcoholism

mikkiokko's review against another edition

dark sad 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? It's complicated

I think I liked most of this book more than Axiom's End. When the book was discussing the aliens and the whole world's reaction to them I was hooked and interested. I also appreciated the authors unwillingness to shy away from the fact that Cora would not be okay after everything that happened in the first book.
However, the biggest problem for me in this book was Kaveh and Cora's relationships. I had a lot of problems with it. I understand that Kaveh is a flawed character and there are certain aspects about him that I do empathize with. But, I felt like much of the time he was too emotionally immature to be in a relationship with Cora, especially while she was struggling severely from PTSD and self-harming tendencies. He often neglected her feelings and well-being completely so that he could have sex with her all while having an insane savior complex. And look, when he got died at the hands of some psycho redneck fascist I did feel bad for him, but I also wished that instead of him dying being the exit of his character it would have been something more along the lines of Cora leaving him or them both leaving each other that way his serious flaws could've been acknowledged better. Instead it felt like much of that was glossed over.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug abuse

emilb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Antisemitism, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Suicide, Islamophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

beccaand's review

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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Racism, Islamophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, and Eating disorder

kanonkita's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

Very well written. I had some issues with the slow pacing of the first book in this series that I felt this one largely managed to avoid. Some aspects of the main character were a bit grating at times, but in one sense that was the point. She was struggling with trauma and mental health issues related to that, and I think Ellis did a good job portraying how these things can make someone difficult to deal with or be around. 

That being said, maybe avoid the audiobook unless you really enjoy listening to tremulous female voices shouting "No no no" over and over again ever few minutes. The computerized sound effect that was put over the Amygdalans' voices in the audiobook could also be grating at times and made it difficult to hear them if there was any background noise while I was listening.

Overall, I would recommend it, but do pay attention to the content warning Ellis provides at the beginning of the novel. 

Also, a note that I have not seen this book listed as LGBTQ+ in many places, which I can only chalk up to bi erasure. Cora is bisexual, and it seems unfair that this gets overlooked just because she has a heterosexual romance, especially given that it occurs alongside her very queer relationship with an alien who only uses he/him pronouns out of convenience.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Gore, Suicide attempt, Islamophobia, Addiction, Death, Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

elizabethblue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Racism and Sexism

seullywillikers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was much darker than "Axiom's End," and as such, a bit harder to read. I love the premise of Extraterrestrial personhood being debated on the American political, and world stage. The new characters were interesting and I really got invested in them. Towards the end, I was feeling like "okay geez, how much more is there actually" but I'm pleased with where the ending takes us. I'm hoping there's another installation in this series.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Gore, Islamophobia, Confinement, Deportation, Racism, and Addiction

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Infertility, and Eating disorder

elysareadsitall's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

2.0

I read 75% of this book. I read as much of Cora's PTSD and suicide attempts and Kaveh's helplessness and feelings of guilt as I could, and then I skipped ahead to the last chapter and newspaper insert. I don't understand what happened between the first book and the second. Book one became one of my favorite books because the first contact aspect was fascinating, the pace was fast, and the question of personhood was intriguing. In book two, the aliens' personhood is the big question, but the book barely focuses on that part. The majority of the book is stuck in Cora's and (to a lesser extent) Kaveh's trauma Their inner thoughts and problematic relationship would have been fine to explore, but not this much! I think the book completely lacks focus and reads more like literary fiction that focuses on trauma than science fiction.

I was extremely disappointed in this sequel. However, because the styles are so different, I'd give a third book a chance if she writes one. I don't know if I'd be motivated to pick up anything else she writes though.

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Self harm