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brettbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I really liked it but found myself more in erested in the mysteries of the world than the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
samnotwise's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape and Murder
marcyh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
As a human, mysteries intrigue me. As a person who devoted years to the study of anthropology, mysteries of culture consume me.
So a story about a city, mysterious from the beginning, but suddenly lost, disappeared from the world? It felt like magic to have stumbled upon it.
Right from the prologue, Strange the Dreamer grabbed my attention and refused to let go.
The story, the characters, the settings, the dreams, they all just kept getting better and better.
Watching the history of Weep unfold bit by bit in tiny little shards of knowledge was mesmerizing.
Other than the gods themselves, there were no characters that I didn’t like.
The only two who came close were Minya and Thyon, but even the two of them weren’t evil, they just lacked compassion.
And the dreams.
Laini Taylor’s writing truly encompasses and deserves the word “art.”
I have long wished that I could dive into the worlds I read about, and then there I was, reading about a world I wanted to dive into, and within that world they were doing the same thing.
The connection I felt to Lazlo and Sarai as they dove into dreams together and made their stories was one of the strongest I’ve ever felt with a character (or characters in this case).
I’m both excited and terrified to learn where the story, and the unseen city of Weep itself, go from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia
djierie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
beemailley's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Kidnapping, and War
kylemhaggerty's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Colonisation
darklydivine's review
emotional
mysterious
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
Fucking experience this was. It's been on my tbr for a long time now when I read the first four sentences and got hooked.
It's a good read. The world is familiar but different. There's demigods and dreamy librarians. Lazlo, my baby. And Sarai, my darling. They better get a decent ending, I have a feeling that they will, can't imagine anything else. For Minya, the only end I can see is death or a loss of power. I don't see redemption in her arc.
Brutal ending. Saw it coming and that somehow made it worse. A thing that I really loved about this book was that I kept trying to find out what happens. It's unexpected really when you're in the middle. But the closer you get to the ending the clearer it becomes and it's kind of surreal but it was brutal and I love it.
I want to see Wraith in the next book, and learn more about the gods and angels, maybe even meet some though I doubt that's gonna happen.
This book gets a four star rating because while it held up to the expectations I had from the prologue, there was a certain lack of pristine finishing in the story. Whether it was worldbuiling and characters, I don't know but there's something there that kept me aware of the fact that it wasn't actuality. That this was fiction that I was reading. That these characters weren't actual people. And that's not a good look, especially not for a fantasy book. It was almost as if the characters were perfect, almost. Like Lazlo was dreamy and mystical and lost in his mind and kind and hardworking. And then later he's powerful, oh so powerful and stricken with grief and pleading. It's all too perfect for some reason. Like these characters behave like characters and not people. I do not know whether this is due to the author's fault or something else but it leaves a space between all the other emotion this book invokes. For the presence of that void, it gets a four star rating.
Otherwise this was a good read, not a book I immediately feel like picking up again and reading, like with Death of Vivek Oji, but it's good and that's enough.
It's a good read. The world is familiar but different. There's demigods and dreamy librarians. Lazlo, my baby. And Sarai, my darling. They better get a decent ending, I have a feeling that they will, can't imagine anything else. For Minya, the only end I can see is death or a loss of power. I don't see redemption in her arc.
Brutal ending. Saw it coming and that somehow made it worse. A thing that I really loved about this book was that I kept trying to find out what happens. It's unexpected really when you're in the middle. But the closer you get to the ending the clearer it becomes and it's kind of surreal but it was brutal and I love it.
I want to see Wraith in the next book, and learn more about the gods and angels, maybe even meet some though I doubt that's gonna happen.
This book gets a four star rating because while it held up to the expectations I had from the prologue, there was a certain lack of pristine finishing in the story. Whether it was worldbuiling and characters, I don't know but there's something there that kept me aware of the fact that it wasn't actuality. That this was fiction that I was reading. That these characters weren't actual people. And that's not a good look, especially not for a fantasy book. It was almost as if the characters were perfect, almost. Like Lazlo was dreamy and mystical and lost in his mind and kind and hardworking. And then later he's powerful, oh so powerful and stricken with grief and pleading. It's all too perfect for some reason. Like these characters behave like characters and not people. I do not know whether this is due to the author's fault or something else but it leaves a space between all the other emotion this book invokes. For the presence of that void, it gets a four star rating.
Otherwise this was a good read, not a book I immediately feel like picking up again and reading, like with Death of Vivek Oji, but it's good and that's enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
This book gave me Miyazaki vibes and I say that as someone who strongly dislikes the comparison of almost any book to his movies because I rarely agree. I was specifically thinking about Laputa a lot, but also bits of Howl's and Spirited Away.
Just really beautiful writing, very descriptive imagery that built a very lush and intriguing world. I am very excited to read the sequel.
Just really beautiful writing, very descriptive imagery that built a very lush and intriguing world. I am very excited to read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
rape/SA: