Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Monstress, Book One by Marjorie Liu

9 reviews

kaiyakaiyo's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

An exquisite series; I docked a star for feeling a bit lost in the middle of the volumes— there are so many people after maika that I began to lose sight of what any overarching goal was 

the characters are wonderful, the art is a treat for the eyes, and the world building is so so rich. 

I already purchased the next book so yay for continuing! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

naiomi's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I loved themes and moods of this graphic novel, the plot and characters are both very interesting and unique 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War

ladypalutena's review against another edition

It feels like we're dropped in on the third or fourth volume of the comics, rather than the first. I gave it 1/3 of the book to see if anything would happen, and found myself googling Monstress to see if it gets better. It seems to be a very divisive comic, but most people seemed to agree with if it hadn't grabbed you by the end of chapter 2, you're not going to find it any easier going forward. I gave it until chapter 5. 

So this is my first DNF in several years, and I don't know how to feel about it. But I don't want to force myself through multiple books and feel like I wasted my time in the end. The art is gorgeous, but the subject matter is hard, and the story is almost...non-existent? I know the main character has some sort of amnesia, but the world building is so slow it's hard to want to pay attention. I kept seeing the phrase "very, very slow burn" thrown around when I was reading about it, and decided this one wasn't for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Medical content, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

mburnsides's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.0

 I had read the first volume months before the rest of the book and had not reread it before finishing, so the first six chapters I don't remember well. Sometimes the story could be hard to follow and I didn't start remembering characters' names until about halfway through. The art is phenomenal and the characters design, ugh *chefs kiss* If you like hot women, this story is for you. If you like matriarchal perspectives and eldritch horror, this story is for you. I enjoyed the greyness of Maika’s character and the story’s willingness to paint “heroes” as bad people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Cannibalism

Minor: Genocide, Racism, and Slavery

jessthanthree's review

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and War

Moderate: Genocide, Torture, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

vigil's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious relaxing tense 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

5.0

i’m utterly devouring this comic series! it’s definitely confusing at first, liu doesn’t take the time to fully introduce you to the world, instead throwing you in head first (making you feel as confused as our main character, maika.) but the learning curve is a very short one, and the pieces start to fall into place soon enough. 

it’s not a comic for everyone. grimdark doesn’t begin to describe the setting, but it’s used for a purpose. marjorie liu doesn’t shy away from from the horrors of war and failed societies (many details she pulled from her own family’s experience during wwii, i believe) and the effects and tragedy left in its wake.

the series has its share of heartwarming moments, mainly in the form of kippa, and her relationship with the world and the people around her. it’s a world chockfull of bad guys, no good guys, and everyone with their backs to the wall and the choices they make because of it. 

i just enjoyed this series so much that i’m giving it a five star despite its aforementioned issues (pacing, vagueness, entry confusion.) if you go into this series treating it like you would a sci-fi / fantasy novel where you stick through the beginning as you gain a hold on the story and setting, you’ll be much better off.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

shadereads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

el_pato_gigante's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Slavery, and Trafficking

Minor: Addiction, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

nyoom's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, and Cannibalism