Reviews tagging 'Gore'

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

48 reviews

shoohoob's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

maevesheehan's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and War

Moderate: Rape

paperback_moon's review

adventurous dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

3.0

This book was written with quite beautiful language throughout. There was some variation in tone to reflect the different women’s voices in each chapter, which was also good.

It was a little difficult to differentiate between original mythological stories and characters and the author’s inventions, although perhaps a better educated reader would find this easier. There was also a lot of violent description throughout that at times felt unnecessary. 

Despite the violence, a lot of the book was very emotionally well-written and many of the characters were easy to empathise with. It is true that the effect of war on women and children is often considered in a single sentence, perhaps a death toll, rather than in personalised stories. This was therefore more emotive for women to read, I think. 

It was clear that the author’s intention here was to bring to light the experiences of women in Greek mythology, since these stories are often sidelined. Perhaps this was a new perspective at the time of writing, but to me it now feels a little overdone and unnecessary. Greek retellings are very popular at the moment, and I wasn’t sure if this book was truly trying to tell the stories of women, or just capitalising on the popularity of both feminism and Greek mythology. Because of this mix of perspectives too, there was regular switching between characters that did lend the story some confusion (especially with all the Greek names!). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Torture, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

kris_tea516's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is a modern epic. It follows the time just after the Trojan War and in parallel with “The Odyssey” but from the perspective of the women. This book tells the story of several women including Eris (goddess of discord & strife), Penthesilea (an Amazon queen), Thetis (mother of Achilles), Oenone (Paris’ wife), Penelope (Odysseus’s wife), and a few others. 

I wasn’t sure I was going to like the book at first. There were so many perspectives & I was worried I was going to get lost in all the characters but the author did the narration for the audiobook and did an amazing job. She added sigh’s, sarcasm, and passion where just reading the physical book I think I would have missed. 

Since this follows the aftermath of war, especially ancient world war, it deals with a lot of really hard realities that most definitely happened to the conquered people, particularly the women & children. It discusses the killing of children and the elderly, the enslavement and rape of women, the trauma of mothers losing their children and husbands (even a very traumatic scene where an infant is murdered). I know these things did (and likely still do) happen & it is good for us to face the realities of war & consider the cost but it is still very difficult to read. There were times I had to take a break to keep from breaking down. 

I will say, my favorite character is Penelope and her “letters” to Odysseus and her growing anger and irritation with him. Her sarcasm was excellent and I wanted cry out, “You tell him, Penelope!” 

If you enjoy Greek history and mythology, especially “The Iliad” &/or “The Odyssey,” I would highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

poppyinthebin's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore and Violence

Minor: Rape

garnethalo's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

While I wanted to give it a 4.75, I realized I only didn't want to give it 5 because I couldn't place blame. Unlike in Stone Blind, where I could blame Athene or Perseus, I could blame no one in A Thousand Ships. And even then the book tried to place the blame, on Helen, on Paris, Aphrodite, Eris, Thetis, Zeus. But no one can take sole blame. And this books makes you face the sorrow of the women. Without a clear cut villian. It filled it's purpose beautifully and forced the reader to stare at the victims of war, with no one at fault.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Animal death, Gore, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

It a story about the women affected by the Trojan war. Both Greeks, Trojans, and women nearby Troy. Greek tragedy even sadder when you consider the women. You have been warned.

crusoe's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Positives. I couldn't put down this book. How could I when this retelling was so fresh, so compellingly written? I love when retellings bring something new to the table and this novel for that both in style (by alternating between POV's until they had each reached their conclusion or by alternating the form in which the story was told, such as through the letters of Penelope) and perspective. The prose had a brutal beauty to it and did not sugarcoat the effects of war. 

This book, in a sense, is not what you might expect from a feministic retelling; these women are critical and jealous of each other, are absorbed with centering the loss of men in their lives. They have very little agency simply because they are an opressed group in a society where they are very rarely seen as more than property. But, with the little agency that they have, they do everything they can to survive- or die when that is the more tolerable option. They are not more dishonourable -not more honourable either- than the men  who the stories usually focus on. They are resilient, they will survive, and so will their stories. 

Negatives. This book is very bleak, war always is, which may or may not be a negative aspect depending on who you are asking. There are very few moments of hope to be found, especially near the end, which can make it a tough read. 

Quote. When a war was ended, men lost their lives. But the women lost everything else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity

margaret_k30's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

micalynne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Would recommend for anyone who has even passing knowledge of the stories of the Trojan war, really interesting take. 

Short self contained chapters make this book incredibly easy to read even if you don’t have a lot of time. Compelling but with no need to worry about cliffhangers 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore and Rape

tashtasher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death and Alcohol