Reviews tagging 'Blood'

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

70 reviews

pvp_niki's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Slavery

Minor: Infertility and Vomit

tbd24's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

gay wrongs. what’s not to love

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War

Minor: Emotional abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

pixelpigeon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

It is absolutely wild that these 2 are the author's first books cause holy fucking shit. I just blew through the last third of this book and stayed up WAY too late.

A personal character flaw of mine is I secretly always hope for happy endings. What you get with this book is an ending as complex as the rest of the story. But I will say the ending does feel satisfying. 

Anyway I will probably be thinking about these books forever. Shelley Parker-Chan please write more books, this unworthy reader begs of you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

saltyseakitten's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kukazashi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

jesslinkletter's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

5.0

I will be emotionally devastated by this book for years to come. I found myself unable to put down He Who Drowned The World and was completely enraptured by all the twists and turns it took. The way Parker-Chan has captured such complex characters that you simultaneously empathize with their struggles and emotions but are horrified by the brutal extents their actions reach is unlike anything I've ever read. I cried my way through so much of this book as I saw what the characters went through and what fraught emotional states their trauma led them to. By the end, it seemed as though every character had descended into madness. This was an incredible feat of storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Murder, and Dysphoria

Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

abnormal_shadow's review against another edition

5.0

The twists, the turns, the death, the life the way that the story interacts with itself. The way it fuels itself and how you can see and sense the characters losing their resolve or failing to achieve their goal. Additionally the Strain that desire puts on the characters and the people around them is just so amazing. This is the first time that I've seen wanting something and having desire pictured as something both good and bad, selfishness that can be wielded into determination.

I love how religion and the belief system of this period mingle in with the story so well how Buddhism is so effortlessly referenced consistently. And oh my God the ghosts I love the way that the ghosts interact with the story being both a conscious member of the plot and a subconscious anchor it is absolutely astonishing.

I absolutely love this book and it's probably one of the best duology I have read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Deadnaming and Abortion

Minor: Child death

blueberry0531's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping

itisnatal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement and Blood

beckcatbooks's review against another edition

4.5

Shelley Parker-Chan is a masterful storyteller! This book had me losing my mind at several points. I was a little nervous approaching the end that I would hate the ending, but they pulled everything together in a very satisfying way. Anyways, Ma Xiuying supremacy!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Abortion