Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

La cinquième saison by N.K. Jemisin

94 reviews

kaeschwalber's review against another edition

While this book is beautifully written and it has an interesting plot, the child sexual abuse was just too much for me. I would put the book down and dread picking it back up, so I think this is just a moment of recognizing my bodies limits.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Rape

kstrammel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Cannibalism

Minor: Vomit

imjumokay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Best fantasy book I've ever read. I understand the reviews now. Everything lead to its inevitable end. We should really figure out climate change.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Blood and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Transphobia, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria

lahars_little_library's review against another edition

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

dahliapyne's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cannibalism

A 2 year old

is found beaten to death

at the very beginning of the book. Some characters disappear and we assume they died. People die from natural disasters, mostly non-characters but a few we meet. Some characters kill other characters ruthlessly and sometimes emotionlessly. The violence/injury/gore level is not extreme, but the instances that do happen are more detailed than many fantasy novels and very icky. The F word is used frequently. Characters have sex, but most scenes are not really very descriptive; however there were 1-2 very explicit scenes (consensual,

polyamorous

). One act of pedophilia is implied, another is described by one character when accusing another. Neither technically occurs on screen but the description by the one character could be triggering (does not go into huge detail but does use graphic wording). For me personally it created more of a visual image in my mind than I want. Sexual assault besides this is the relatively non-graphic scenes of

two slaves who are ordered to have sex with each other, rather than one person wanting it

. There is clear racism against a group of people who are slaves, and they do use a fantasy-word racial slur, but characters

are reclaiming the word.

I wasn’t sure if fantasy-word racial slurs for fantasy-races should be included under the content warnings listed above or not. If this were a movie it would be rated R, but short segments (gore, the 1-2 explicit sex scenes) could be removed and make it PG-13. Definitely would not recommend for young teens without supervision but it’s not a YA book

dellydoos's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

 Sometimes (most of the time) I say controversial things when it comes to books, as often overhyped and over-celebrated book are really just that: over hyped and over-celebrated. But The Fifth Season is not that book. N.K. Jemisin deserves all the praise for this spectacular and emotional devasting piece of art she’s created, and let me tell you why. 

The book takes place at the end of the world. An earthquake has cracked the continent in half and volcanoes are pumping ash into the sky, threatening to coat the sky in eternal darkness for centuries, but all Essun cares about is finding her husband and killing him for kidnapping their daughter and murdering their three-year old son. It’s an emotionally charged first chapter, and yet the punches keep rolling. 

In the world of The Stillness, Jemisin’s world-building is superb, detailed, and immersive. The narrative is enriched by a deep history and a complex magic system known as Orogeny, which deals with the manipulation of thermal and kinetic energy (think earth bending and fire bending combined). But the people who wield this dreadful power are villainised and killed if they cannot be controlled by the Fulcrum, a mysterious organisation who are not above enslaving, murdering and torturing orogenes in order to control them. 

What sets The Fifth Season apart is Jemisin’s ability to weave complex themes of oppression, survival, and resilience into a narrative that is both epic and deeply personal. Essun’s journey is not just one of vengeance but also of self-discovery and understanding the true nature of her world and its prejudices. This book is an allegory on the harsh, historical and systemic racism our own world faces and it’s an incredibly important story to tell. 

Jemisin’s world-building is incredibly detailed, from the intricate histories and lore to the perceived inaccuracies that shape societies within The Stillness. The only fault in her writing is the overwhelming amount of terminology and historical events to wrap your head around (thankfully, there is a glossary and appendix at the back of the book). However, this complexity doesn't ease up, as more terms and events continue to accumulate. Additionally, while Jemisin creates a fully-fledged world with rich characters, each weighed down with unique voices and flaws, her descriptions are sparse and mostly factual. At times, it was challenging for me to grasp exactly what she was trying to convey in certain parts. This minimalistic approach to description left me yearning for more vivid imagery to fully visualize the story's settings and events. 

Regardless of minor drawbacks, The Fifth Season is a masterclass in storytelling, blending speculative fiction and fantasy with profound social commentary. This one is a heavy hitter, it’s dark and incredibly emotional. It’s a book that challenges you to think and feel deeply and I’m well settled in for the remainder of the trilogy. 4.5/5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Xenophobia

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Slavery

nil033's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Pedophilia, and Cannibalism

mickeyjaytee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? N/A

4.25

I found the writing style took some adjustment and, scoffed a little at the start. Glad I kept on as this book was really bloody good and well written. Very unique, can be quite dark, sad, adventurous and kept me on my toes. I smashed this book out in 3-4 days which is very impressive as I usually don’t have much time to read. I definitely recommend this as a great novel to read. Already bought the second and third novels and can’t wait to read them! 

Moving on, there’s a very unique magic (not really the word but, is) system. 

I’m quite a writing snob (poor writing just puts me off immediately) and this book has quality. Pick it up if you haven’t already!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

maddyreads89's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

Really interesting, but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if I knew all the ways it bends genre. I just don’t have that much experience with SF books. Excited to read the rest of the series though

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Pedophilia

jess_always_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? N/A

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! It's very dark (fair warning) but it's done so well. Nothing feels gratuitous, it paints a dark but brutally honest picture. 

I loved the different lived experiences depicted amongst the diverse characters (including a poly relationship!) and he world-building without clear explanation was a fun mystery to unravel as I went along. 

Highly recommend, Jemisin has an incredible gift and so much talent! I've already requested the next one in the series from my local library. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia and Cannibalism