Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

10 reviews

sofipitch's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

I struggled a little orienting to the world in the beginning, and that is on purpose, but a lot of what is supposed to keep your attention are these large military space battles, which isn't necessarily my favorite thing. But the end when things make it all come together is excellent. It also contains an interesting and nuanced portrayal of colonialism and the subtle/cultural ways a colonizing force can take power as well as horrible war crimes. I think if the Texicalaan series is the cultural aspect and Baru Cormorant is the brutality, this book is the most realistic for how well it captures both

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, and War

Moderate: Dysphoria

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

2.0

can't tell if I just have no brain power at the moment or if the worldbuilding and plot legitimately are never explained in a way that makes sense. want to maybe give it another shot in the future to see if my feelings change, but for now, just kind of impenetrable

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Death, Murder, Gore, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Rape

Minor: Child death, Torture, Sexual content, Suicide, Ableism, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

kelsiers's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Gun violence

Minor: Rape

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

challenging tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Sexual assault, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

intoblossom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

3.0

Mostly for the worldbuilding. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Genocide and Torture

Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, and Suicide

confusedmuse's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

Moderate: Body horror, Dysphoria, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Confinement, Colonisation, Grief, Murder, Self harm, and Torture

mdpenguin's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

I'm not that into straight up war stories, but this was very clever. I enjoyed the notion of complex mathematical models of calendars and holidays creating exotic physical effects that can be harnessed as tools and weaponry. A lot of the story, though, felt choppy. There were parts that the author really wrote well but there were good chunks here and there that felt a little underdeveloped. As much as I enjoyed it, I wasn't going to read the rest of the series until I got to the end, which unexpectedly drew me in despite the fact that I was expecting the ending. It was the way that it happened that made me really want to see where it's going to go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, War, and Gore

Minor: Rape and Emotional abuse

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.0

'Ninefox Gambit' by Yoon Ha Lee is an engaging military sci-fi story that delves into a unique world. 
The story centers around disgraced Captain Kel Cheris, who is given the opportunity to redeem herself by retaking a star fortress. To do this, Cheris allies herself with the undead Shuos Jedao, whose ghost is paired with her so that she can hear his voice in her head. As they work to retake the Fortress of Scattered Needles, Cheris learns more about Jedao's past and the truth behind what has long made others consider him mad.
Yoon Ya Lee creates an engaging and unique world in 'Ninefox Gambit.' The political machinations that are going on behind the scenes, paired with Cheris' story interweave to create an engaging plot. I think one of the really strong points of the story is how we slowly learn more about Jedao through his memories. Lee slowly peels away at Jedao's madness to learn more about what drove him to do what he has become infamous for.  
I would recommend reading this story instead of listening to it as I often found myself confused while listening. The complexity of the world, including a lot of really specific vocabulary, means that you have to pay close attention to follow along with what is happening, especially as we move between Cheris' story and Jedao's past. If you like military science fiction and complex worlds, I highly recommend 'Ninefox Gambit.' I'm interested to see what happens next, especially as we learn more about the world and Jedao. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Minor: Suicide

annalisaely's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Awesome world building, love the galactic politics, adore the characters, both Cheris and Jedao are fascinating and entirely lovable while still being complicated and flawed. Also very cool space opera elements with battles and cool ships. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Genocide, Death, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

trazac's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I had a particularly difficult time reading this book. It is outright confusing and meant to be. There is borderline zero exposition, so all details are scrapped from conversation and narration, precious though they be. Also borderline zero descriptions of what anything looks like. Perhaps that won't be an issue with some readers, but I had a hard time picturing anything that was happening which only lead to more confusion. The middle 60% of the book is outrageously boring, with interspersed sections of brand new POVs of characters who are spun up with a lot of detail only to die immediately.

Otherwise well written. Good character dynamic and somewhat compelling theater of war style writing that I just personally cannot find interest in. Character growth somewhat limited and complicated. World is built somewhat well but utterly confusing. For a relatively short book, a ton of information is introduced and never explained. Perhaps that makes the world more true-to-life but it also means many people will walk away with a totally different idea of what happened.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content and Gun violence

Minor: Confinement and Suicidal thoughts