Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

11 reviews

geekmom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was interesting and ended on a strong note. However, it had some issues, many of which I think come from it being the second book in a trilogy exploring some very complex and difficult legal, moral and philosophical issues, and others which are likely the byproduct of trying to write about a character with serious mental health challenges without ending up with a book nobody would want to read. I’m glad I finished this book, and I’ll read the third one, but I hope it’s less uneven.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

mikkiokko's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I think I liked most of this book more than Axiom's End. When the book was discussing the aliens and the whole world's reaction to them I was hooked and interested. I also appreciated the authors unwillingness to shy away from the fact that Cora would not be okay after everything that happened in the first book.
However, the biggest problem for me in this book was Kaveh and Cora's relationships. I had a lot of problems with it. I understand that Kaveh is a flawed character and there are certain aspects about him that I do empathize with. But, I felt like much of the time he was too emotionally immature to be in a relationship with Cora, especially while she was struggling severely from PTSD and self-harming tendencies. He often neglected her feelings and well-being completely so that he could have sex with her all while having an insane savior complex. And look, when he got died at the hands of some psycho redneck fascist I did feel bad for him, but I also wished that instead of him dying being the exit of his character it would have been something more along the lines of Cora leaving him or them both leaving each other that way his serious flaws could've been acknowledged better. Instead it felt like much of that was glossed over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug abuse

emilb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Antisemitism, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Suicide, Islamophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Gore

Minor: Blood and Confinement

lastcomment314's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Blood, Excrement, Genocide, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, and Violence

pizzasprite's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

3.0

I have strongly conflicting feelings about this book.

It a took a while for me to get around to reading this one, since the plot of Axiom's End was so heavily based in American politics, which I am completely uninterested in as a non-American. However, Truth of the Divine does a better job exploring the international implications of first contact than Axiom's End did. The first half of this book was, well, divine - I was extremely interested in the relationship between Cora and Ampersand, and the urgency of resolving the main political conflicts continued on from the first book. I thought Kaveh was a much-needed different perspective to contrast Cora's limited viewpoints. I think that telling the story of first contact from a journalist's POV much more interesting than from a "militarist" perspective. I also loved Nikolas! The alien culture that Ellis has fabricated is truly fascinating, I almost wish this series was all about aliens with no human characters. The way Cora's PTSD and panic attacks were depicted were equally heartbreaking and sympathetic. This book depicts mental illness more earnestly than anything I have read recently. 

The second half of the book is much weaker. The tension between Cora and Ampersand dissolved completely, since Ampersand is largely absent beyond Act 2. The sexual relationship between Cora and Kaveh made me so, so, so uncomfortable. It felt very gratuitous and came out of nowhere, almost like an editor insisted on their romance. In the author's notes, Ellis mentions that Kaveh used to be two characters, and you can definitely see that in the writing. There were many instances in which I felt like I could not continue reading, because their age difference and unbalanced power dynamic made me feel that uncomfortable. Early on, it's established that Cora feels very lonely, and needs another human to talk to: if Kaveh had remained her friend/mentor, this dynamic would have been perfect. However, the fact that they begin sleeping together makes their bond feel extremely creepy and toxic. This makes it difficult to "root" for Kaveh as a protagonist.  I wish the book focused on the relationship between Ampersand and Cora, especially since their romance is alluded to early in the book. I suspect/hope this will be explored more in the next book. 

I will probably read the next book in the series, to ultimately see what happens to Ampersand. But this one definitely left a foul taste in my mouth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Ableism, Eating disorder, Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Addiction

Minor: Misogyny

ferlintokezeirquizes's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.25

Ellis' sophomore attempt features the same structural problems as her debut novel—plot and pacing issues, stunted language, awkward characterization. The themes of personhood and identity are interesting, but they are buried under a boring story. 

I was very close to marking it as DNF; I managed to crawl through it, though, which means it warrants a couple of stars. I probably won't pick up book 3.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Minor: Antisemitism and Racism

bigofheartdumbofass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

Incredible, harrowing book. Left me begging for more. Characters were even better written than the first book. Overall this book is better than Axiom's End while still building upon previous ideas beautifully.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Eating disorder, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship

wrzlprmft's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Sexual content, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Torture, War, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Confinement, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Police brutality

erynlasbelin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Antisemitism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis