Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

17 reviews

bean_7088's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

Oof... that was a rough one. 
Wanna be sad about the human race? Wanna feel fairly hopless? This one is for you!

It does end on a hopeful note... but like that hopefulness is somewhat undercut by the way the character speakin treated. 

This one had a lot of tense scenes I wanted to hide from. I had to stop a lot and explain what was going on to my roommate so I could get those jitters out. Like, a televised "discussion" between two different sides of the alien personhood debate. A hearing where unknown evidence comes up. 

Anyways, it was still really good. 

I'm not sure how I felt about Kaveh. And I'm not sure if it was how he was written or just his voice actor 😅 I'm sure the guy is normally fine, but the main voice actor Stephanie Willis is so incredible that switching to him is quite jarring. 

Waring that Cora goes through a lot, this poor kid traumatized over and over. And Stephanie Willis will make you feel it. Listening to Cora's Panic attacks was very distressing.

The ending left on such a wild note I am excited to see where the 3rd book will go. Now I just have to wait 7 months 🥲

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Grief, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Death, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Self harm, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

Lindsay Ellis does a big Content Warning before everything starts. At least in the audio book.

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

trinidad_gondi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Vomit

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Addiction and Suicide

ling_prof'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Blood, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Violence, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Addiction, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, and Hate crime

Minor: Forced institutionalization

htsrokin's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Xenophobia and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship and Alcoholism

claremcg's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Still interested in the world and the bigger questions this book raises, but overall it wasn't as strong as Axiom's End. The plot felt more aimless and contrived at points and the alien characters less completing. The biggest drawback for me was how dark the content matter got, and how uncritically much of  it was presented. The reading experience was so dark I almost gave up reading at multiple points.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Self harm, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Dementia, Xenophobia, Violence, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, and Toxic relationship

nicnels's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Islamophobia, and Gun 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

hanarama's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.25

Book at a glance:
• Human/alien relationship
 • Polyamorous
 • Early 2000 alternate history
 • First Contact
• CWs: attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, self harm, toxic relationships, mental illness, panic attacks, gun violence, racism, Islamophobia, death 

Several months following the events of Axiom’s End, Cora is suffering from ptsd. She has panic attacks, depression, and night terrors. She relies on Ampersand for support and medication. She struggles to relax and to pull her mind away from what happened with Obelisk. 

Meanwhile the American government struggles to determine how to treat the aliens, politically. A growing conservative movement is pushing for a Third Option, that would treat the aliens as people, but with "different" rights than humans. Kaveh, a investigative journalist and immigrant fears that this will open the door to stripping humans of rights. When another alien makes landfall, Cora and Kaveh are thrown together and must fight for the humanity of extraterrestrial beings. 

I enjoyed Truth of the Divine more than I did Axiom’s End. The expanded cast helps to flesh out the world building. Kaveh and Nikola's friendship helps to drive the plot. And Kaveh provides a much needed dose of idealism and optimism to the story. Cora's mental illness is portrayed realistically, to painful effect. Her relationship with Ampersand is written as increasingly toxic for both characters, and as he has been her only support system, both characters seem set for a downward spiral. Without Kaveh for hope and levity, the story could easily have been too bleak. 

Though Ellis writes compelling internal narration, she flounders with dialog. When not about the aliens, the fate of humanity, and other heavy topics, the characters often feel stilted and forced. I found myself cringing at the dialog more than a couple or times, it felt so awkward. 

Despite this, Ellis knows how to set high stakes. The story is steeped in political issues. Though set in an alternate recent past, the story draws on today's most pressing issues of human rights. While I felt that Ellis wrote a good sci-fi that evokes human rights issues and the looming climate crisis, it may feel a little too on the nose for some readers. By pulling inspiration from real issues, I felt that the story was given a greater sense of gravity. 

The ending hits hard. That she gives Kaveh the last chapter felt particularly important to me as it seems as though the series appears to be moving towards bleaker territory. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gun violence

momo916's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

Ellis covers a lot of ground in this book, from PTSD to the very nature of human society. The tone is, of course, much darker than the first book, but it feels appropriate given the escalating stakes and the unavoidable trauma incurred by the world she has created. This book was much harder for me to finish than the first was, laden as it is with grief, loss, and a staggeringly disappointing view of humanity (or at least the United States) it paints. I recently described this series as the nexus of Phantom of the Opera, aliens, and social commentary, but that comment absolutely indicates more brevity than is accurate. It is all of those things, that is true, but this whole journey is laced with such complexity and darkness that it feels incomplete. It is very well done, cynical as it is.

My only true gripe is that, while their presence was appropriate given the circumstances, some of the social commentary quips were a little on the nose. Granted, their absence would have been notable, so I'm not sure if this is just me being nitpicky. Though this is not at all indicative of poor writing or storytelling, I also did at times get a bit annoyed at Cora

for her pigheadedness and myopic pursuit of reunification with Ampersand at all cost, especially since it did eventually cost her the man she loves

.

I have rated this book 4.75 stars because I reserve a 5 star rating for books that I would immediately read again. This doesn't necessarily mean that I think the other books I have rated at 5 stars were better than this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Addiction, Suicide, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism and Alcoholism