Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

50 reviews

friemesis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

birdfears's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I am enjoying this series so far.
The story touches on a lot of themes that are relevant today and the premise is what made me pick it up in the first place.
For me, this started as a slow read, but the last few chapters were especially strong and I am looking forward to the next instalment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, and Colonisation

iamtheland's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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: Death, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

blakeisslaying's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

bl2012's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-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? No

4.0

Can't wait for the next installment!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Xenophobia

Minor: War

The US goverment and military is prominently featured

and is largely but not exclusively the antagonist or main obstacle to our heroes. Other prominent enemies include white supremacist militias

planetdaniel14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.5

A very satisfying follow up to Axiom's End, however much more darker and introspective.

A raw look into PTSD, suicide, and self harm which can be quite graphic, however does not pull any punches in the story that it is telling. 

I didn't particularly care for the Cora / Kaveh romance subplot which slows the middle of the book down somewhat (which is why I deducted half a star), but picks up when the focus is Cora and the Amygdaline or Kaveh and the Amygdaline as you get a glimpse into the culture clash and the potential for human reaction which comes to a head in the final part of the book. 

The debates around how you would grant aliens personhood were genuinely thought-provoking as well as the looks into how we deal with our own emotions (the quote being most standout to me being "why do we dismiss how our parents taught us relationships as 'daddy issues')

While the ending left me melancholy, I am looking forward to Book 3 and where the themes take me next

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, War, and Injury/Injury detail

notbambi's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-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

I love Kaveh Taherian as a podcaster, but man, he is not a great audiobook narrator. He reminds me of my high school students reading aloud for the class. Luckily, Stephanie Willis and Abigail Thorn are great.

This book rakes Cora and Ampersand through the coals emotionally. Cora is dealing with PTSD, and she self-harms a few times in the book. Early on, the focus is on the pair having very different perspectives on relationships and mental health, which was a very cool and effective way of exploring how alien Ampersand really is. 

Later in the book, the emphasis shifts to new characters, Kaveh and Nikola, who have a similar getting-to-know-you arc as Cora and Ampersand in book one, although less antagonistic to start. It also shifts to the broader political debate around whether aliens should be extended human rights. 

I like the way that this book explores the idea of just how alien an alien can be while still being somewhat relateable and knowable to humans. I like how it argues that the way people treat the aliens is a reflection of our worst impulses and fears being used to justify the stripping of rights in the real world. 

I really liked a lot about this book, but it wasn't a five star for me. For me, some of the writing got a little cringey. The pop culture/meme references were a bit much and didn't always feel natural. This book is quite long and I can't help but feel like some of the subplots could have been trimmed. I didn't need Kaveh and Cora's date at the club. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Police brutality

jenny_d's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

aglimpseinto's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The story goes into some dark spots and it led me on a spiral regarding humanity and our worth. Not recommended to someone who might be struggling with their mental health but it's an engaging story that kept me wanting to know what would occur next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Alcoholism and Bullying

qoutrot's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia