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kharlan3's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Outing, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
k_aro's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Child death, Outing, and Abandonment
Minor: Ableism and Animal death
Many questions around these content warnings exist because it's a historical fiction book that pretty violently diverges from real life. Is it transphobia if he's a eunuch?elliya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Also this book has a sapphic relationship which gets nearly zero page time — except for a full-on FISTING SCENE that occupies half of the couple’s overall page time??? Honestly though it was tender and I was not mad.
Graphic: Ableism, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Slavery and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity
river_jean_sterling'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
crystalisreading'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
galexy_brain'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
throwback682's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.”
Phew. This book was so good and I’m ready to immediately dive into the conclusion of the Radiant Emperor duology - He Who Drowned the World.
This book is about human suffering - due to war, patriarchy, religion, etc. It’s not an easy or lighthearted read. I liked so many of the characters in spite of them all being pretty bad people - some of the best characters are power hungry, blood thirsty, and ruthless - and it gets worse from there.
But I’ll be damned if I wasn’t rooting for them!
This book has some very queer elements (both in terms of sexuality and gender) but very much in a way that’s framed by its setting - you won’t be able to neatly cram these characters into 21st century western boxes and labels, though you might be tempted.
Although the bulk of the “adult” content in this book is the violence of war, there’s also one graphic sex scene, FYI. See also the content warnings.
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Animal death, Excrement, Grief, and Outing
The sex scene involvesgogglor's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Child death, Abandonment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Sexual violence, Slavery, Vomit, Outing, and Alcohol
lis4so'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? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Classism
abnormal_shadow's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Outing