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takarakei's review
- 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
- 'submarines' more like a giant cruise ship underwater
- a bit of sci-fi horror
- environmental undertones
- queer second chance romance!
Despite some photography inaccuracies which took me out of the story for a bit (totally a me thing)... this was super fun to read! I found the world building interesting and the mysterious plot kept me reading along! I've heard this was inspired by Bioshock? which makes sense. Audiobook is good too!
Downside is it's the first in a series and the next book isn't out yet :'( but I shall be continuing once that's out!
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, and Medical content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War
fromthefoxhole's review against another edition
- 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
I usually hate when books are marketed "X meets Y, for fans of Z!" It feels cheap and inauthentic 90% of the time. That said, as a massive fan of Arcane and a Locked Tomb enjoyer? Yeah, they nailed that. I can't speak to Bioshock aside from the whole retrofuturism underwater aspect, but. I wouldn't necessarily quantify This Gilded Abyss as a horror, more that it has horror elements (a disease that makes people inexplicably violent and mindless, a haunting (?), I have thalassophobia so this entire premise is my nightmare anyway). It is, definitely, a SFF book.
So what didn't work?
1. The worldbuilding - There are moments in this book that are crystal clear, I could basically see the movie adaptation in my mind. There are others that had me flipping back through my notes like "how did I miss that?" only to find out that I hadn't missed anything, it just hadn't been mentioned. Lumos is probably my best example of this - we never got backstory on Lumos outside of Nix constantly using the name where we would use "God" in a sentence.
2. Pacing - The first portion of the book kind of drags, where in later chapters every single one ends with another Major Event Cliffhanger. I understand ramping up the action as the stakes get more dire, but there comes a point where it becomes hard to hold onto all of the different threads. It could have benefited from being a touch shorter, or maybe omitting a thread or two to provide more space for the rest.
3. Writing style - I understand the frustration in several of the reviews about Thorne's style being very straightforward. There's a good amount of telling over showing, but I personally don't really mind that. Worth noting, however. There are several instances where something is explained 2-3 times within like 2 chapters, and if Kess is on the page, you can bet Nix is making a remark about her ichoron eye. That repetition felt unnecessary and stilted, at times.
What did I love?
1. Twists and turns abundant - I may have gotten a bit overwhelmed by the end, but I enjoy intrigue and suspense. It was hard to trust anyone throughout, and I know my heart rate was elevated at least several times based on my "oh god" note count.
2. Nix and Kess. Queen and Knight sapphics where they're both badasses?
3. Worldbuilding - Where I do have some clarity issues, as mentioned above, good lord this world is amazing. I'm a sucker for that steampunk retrofuturist aesthetic, and This Gilded Abyss absolutely nails that. There's no way in hell I would ever take a trip on the Luminosity, even before the events of this book (thalassaphobia, remember?), but the idea is so cool and the aesthetics are imacculate. All the rose gold, the geometric designs, even the outfit details are so specific and it really helped me feel immersed in the world.
I will say I wish there was a note in the title that this was part of a series, because when it ended I about threw my phone seeing "to be continued". But overall I really enjoyed This Gilded Abyss and I can't wait for the other two books to drop!
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Vomit
sundae_cone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
+ May be up your alley if you're a Bioshock and/or Arcane fan
- Not as perfect for Gideon the Ninth fans though
- Inconsistent pacing
- Dull cliffhanger (but this was a bit expected as a series)
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Vomit
jenpen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
But I just could not get myself to like *any* of the characters. The MC in particular was supposed to be a super strong female lead, but she just cried and got herself rescued the entire book. In addition, it was slow and super repetitive, to the point that I skimmed the last half. The twist at the end didn’t excite me. The humor felt forced most of the time. Even though it’s marketed as horror, it was less scare and more gore.
The writing at a sentence level is pretty and great quality, and the world was interesting. But the lack of a single lovable character is probably what did it in for me. I guess this book just wasn’t for me, unfortunately. Still, I’ll definitely be giving the author’s cozy fantasies a try!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
building_a_bookdom's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Genocide, Mental illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Addiction and Toxic relationship
dancers_and_dragons's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
While I'd wished for a less ambiguous ending, I'm definitely bittersweet about finishing this book and I'm looking forward to the next installment of this series.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
Sexual content:rhensie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is a thrilling sapphic fantasy horror that really delivered on the 'trapped underwater' atmosphere that was promised. The steampunk-esque elements of this world are excellent; in fact, the general world building is amazing, and I wasn't expecting to get such an interesting world out of this book. The fight scenes were a particular highlight for me, but the relationship and the spice were also great. I love both Nix and Kess, though I didn't feel a particularly strong attachment to other characters here. I really can't wait to find out where we go from here.
Moderate: Vomit
sylsbookcorner's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
sunshine_oracle's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Instead, follow Sergeant Nix Marr on a special assignment aboard the Luminosity as personal security for Subarch Kessandra Marie Vendermere Biltean III. Luminosity is the travel vessel to the underwater city if Fall, it is the only way in and out.
Nix has been there before to the Ichoron mines outside of Fall along with Kessandra. Many soldiers do tours in the mines, and not all of them come back. This trip to Fall is different. Something -or someone- is attacking dive teams before they even get to the mines. And Kessandra means stop it. But before they can reach Fall, the attacks begin on Luminosity.
Prepare yourself for a journey deep underwater on an oppulant vessel filled with people going berserk. I am a wimp when it comes to horror and gore. But This Guilded Abyss made me the right level of uncomfy. Thanks to the content warnings page I knew exactly what I was getting into. I described it to a friend as soft horror, it didn't hit my upper threshold which is great and it didn't make me gag and have to DNF. But jeeze did it have me nearly crying several times. And getting weird shivers because of the idea of red eyes just lurking in the darkness. I enjoyed reading This Guilded Abyss and slammed through it in just a day. I can't wait to find out what's waiting for Kess and Nix in Fall.
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: War
smarty007's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This story centers on Sergeant Nix Marr and the royal Kessandra (sorry, unlike Nix I can’t list all her titles properly). Nix is the protagonist and the novel is told from her POV. At the very beginning there seems to be bad blood between the two women, but Kess wants Nix’s help regardless and even though Nix is reluctant, Kess prevails and they embark on their mission together. And no one is prepared for what happens next.
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Medical content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War