therealratking's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Whats the book about?
After the disaster that was Canaan House, the newly born Lyctor Harrowhark the Ninth is struggling to survive on the Emperor's ship. Not only is her brain fucked up but someone is trying to kill her. To add to all this misery, the resection beasts are closing in and Harrows necromancy has decided to stop working as it should.
Whats my opinion?
This book made me ball my eyes out, a rare feat that only the Locked Tomb series had managed to do. The second person POV, while confusing at first ends up making so much sense that my jaw dropped. I loved following Harrow's messed up daily life and the dark humor introduced in Gideon the Ninth follows through. Overall i loved this book and if you loved the first book, you'll love this one even more.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Cannibalism
shelbymarie314's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Medical trauma, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Stalking, and Death
Minor: Cannibalism
schmetterlingsbluetenartige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Cannibalism
hayleyvem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Murder, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Bullying
Moderate: Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Genocide, Infertility, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Cancer, and Suicide
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
provo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The finale was something else and bumped my rating from 4 to 5 stars, incredibly satisfying to unwind all the what-the-fuck-is-going-on.
But: check trigger warnings before reading, like there’s a lot of really graphic stuff.
Also maybe not a book anyone should read during an active psychotic episode (this is not a joke).
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, War, Death of parent, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Murder, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt
vampire_burrito's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cannibalism, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Grief
amanda_bristol's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Abandonment, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Body horror, Murder, Medical content, Bullying, Vomit, Cancer, Cannibalism, and Gore
irisraerah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Also, as a queer woman, there is something so deeply comfortable and affirming about reading a story like this, full of queer characters, relationships, and tragedy, but without queerness being the source of any tension or tragedy. Queerness is simply a fact of life in a way that feels like home, though I personally have never lived as part of a space faring necromantic society, and my swordplay has been limited to a single college fencing credit.
A word of caution to the squeamish reader: gore and the aesthetics of gore feature strongly in this series, though this is a case where the book's cover should have warned you about that clearly enough. Despite the goriness, I find Muir's setting to actually be quite beautiful in the grotesque, and scenes that might be something of nightmare felt vivid and terrific.
Having praised the highbrow content, I'd be remiss to not mention the low: spoilers for jokes you'll want to be caught off guard by as you read them in read time.
Spoiler
How the hell did Muir pull off "choke me daddy," "none pizza with left beef," and "Hi, *double spoiler,* I'm Dad" in a serious book? I'm impressed.Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Vomit, War, Pregnancy, and Torture
leanne_miron'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Violence, Cannibalism, Grief, Body horror, and Vomit
Minor: Suicide
boglord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Gore, War, Blood, Death, Body horror, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Cursing, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Ableism