Reviews tagging 'Death'

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

5 reviews

econsidine's review against another edition

• 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

5.0

A classic Victorian-style social drama about a high society family in turmoil after the death of their patriarch leaves them in disagreement over their inheritance.

Except that everyone is a dragon and the inheritance dispute is mainly over who gets to eat what part, and how much, of their father's body.

It's the rare combo of a top-notch premise and flawless execution. It's dry humor social commentary with a highly creative world. It's the best of Jane Austen and the best of Anne McCaffrey rolled into one delightful story. It's a reminder that, for all our social graces and scripts, it's all just obscuring true animalistic instincts and monstrous threats. And the dragons canonically wear hats.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Child death, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Classism, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Grief, and Confinement

ladythana's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny

Minor: Confinement, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

ghostlyprose's review against another edition

funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

no other world has feel as intriguing and inviting as jo walton's tooth and claw for me. wish there were other books in this universe.

the subtlety of old customs, as told by a janeaustenesque narrator, carried by a high society of dragons not only works as a firm structure for the well written cast of characters, it also leads the reader to a slow understanding of how everything work. mostly.

actually, no. i've got more questions than answers but in a good way.

can i have more, please?

also, let felin say fuck.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Abandonment, Misogyny, Classism, Death of parent, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape

yogomagpie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• 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

3.5

I enjoyed this story. The characters, the lore, the drama. However, the pacing felt rushed after about 2/3 through. The ending consisted of several abrupt moments of resolution, wrapped up in a bullet point-like way. A couple endings were a little outrageous, and makes me wonder what was the point of worrying over the previous 300 pages. Despite the ending, I enjoyed the book and do recommend it to Fantasy and Victorian lovers as well as Wings of Fire fans. I’ll be on the lookout for Walton’s other books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Sexism, Miscarriage, Murder, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Minor: Rape

gwynsvan's review

adventurous funny relaxing slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Sexual assault, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Trafficking