Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Les Oiseaux du temps by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

35 reviews

sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

I’m sorry. I know from all the reviews this is a much beloved book but it just wasn’t for me. I had high expectations: initially when I saw this book floating around I thought it was nonfiction due to the title and cover. After realizing it’s fiction and about time travelers falling in love, I was excited! Unfortunately, the writing was too sparse and I did not feel much for the characters, making it made it a very difficult read.

I think my biggest issue might be my disinterest in science fiction. I am always trying to reach outside my comfort zone and read genres I may not consider. In this case, the characters were so science fiction they didn’t feel human, although I think that was the point? I think? I genuinely don’t know if they were supposed to be nonhuman or just futuristic humans.

I really struggled with the writing. There were some very beautiful sentences but it was not cohesive and felt confusing. This also made me sad because normally I love wordy books and reading between the lines, but here I just felt frustrated because I didn’t feel any sense of a plot. Again, maybe it’s just not my cup of tea, but the fact that there was so much time jumping between letters and points in their lives didn’t help me see how their relationship developed over time (this is ironic for a time traveler story, I know).

Overall, I would recommend this to fans of science fiction and queer literature. Maybe only people I am acquainted with, though, I don’t think I could ever recommend this to a friend.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement and Colonisation

mausekuchen's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

This is one book in a million. Such an unique plot, setting and characters. I don't think I'll ever find something similar overall, but especially in tone as well.

There's nothing I would actually critique on this book. The ranking is due to my difficulties understanding the language of the book. I'd probably need to read this again/in my mother tongue to actually grasp the full complexitiy on all levels of it. Therefore I also lowkey struggled with being committed to reading it.

PS: I would have never thought I'd find such intense, all-consuming love letters in a sci-fi book. Especially written in such a way that I might consider wether I'm actually too cynical for stories with romance focus.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Torture

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Medical content

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, and Abandonment

jen3699's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I loved it and I'm recommending it. It's short but a masterpiece. Every minute of this is used to create this beautiful love story. I love it.

The end is my favourite. It's crafted so beautifully and with such dedication. 

The idea of a love that you take into your being so literally, unconsciously and consciously. The type of love that consumes you and remakes you into something new for you and your partner. Beautiful.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Grief, and Abortion

monstrouscosmos's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Characters: 10/10
Relationships: 10/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 9.5/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 9.5/10
Internal Logic: 10/10
Entertainment: 10/10
Overall: 68/70, 5*

I love epistolary novels, quantum time travel plots, and messy star crossed sapphic romances, so I figured from the get that I'd be really into this. and I was! I especially loved the ways the characters spoke with one another across timelines, and gave context for themselves as individuals, within their respective collective experiences, and within their shared relationship over time(s). the writing about writing was also really fun! there are definitely moments that delve into disturbing themes and events, but for the most part I found the tone stayed hopeful in belief for better circumstances. 

it's definitely something I need to relisten to (I feel like I missed a lot in my first run thru due to the narrative bouncing around quite a lot), but I'm so excited to revisit it! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry

Graphic: spiders

sop17hie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

I don't know how to feel. Some beautiful poetic moments but also nauseating gore. Some parts felt like 1984 with the new speak and uncanny turns of phrase.

The moments of war and gore, and being able to be surgeons to themselves really put me off. Hiding things behind the eyeball??? 🤮🤮🤮

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War

violerwolf's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

This book wasn’t for me. The prose can be so purposefully opaque that it renders parts of the book barely understandable. And while I’m sure that some people enjoy that, personally I think that no matter how cerebral a book is, you should be able to imagine what the characters are doing when the author describes simple actions. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Torture, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

rwsmith's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

i read this book after seeing a friend highly recommend it. i didnt realize how short it was. i listened to the audiobook - HIGHLY recommend - but this is one ill need to get a hard copy of for my shelf. the two readers of the audiobook were amazing and gave such interesting personalities to the main characters. im interested to see how differently ill perceive them when i read a physical copy. 
the story is told almost entirely through letters that two time traveling agents write each other. they start as rivals, and slowly lower their guards and begin to fall for each other, trying to keep their relationship a secret. 
i love the implications given when the story is told through their letters this way. the letters are at once straightforward and poetic. the writing of the whole novel is beautiful - tactile and soft and pointed and mysterious at the same time.
i'll definitely be reading this again.  5/5. its only a 4-hour audiobook, only a couple hundred pages. if you have an afternoon, there's no reason not to pick it up. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Genocide, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, and Colonisation

peggy_racham's review against another edition

4.75

A war across time and space, love across the same. Two agents and lovers. I loved reading this book,falling in love with the characters, as they are falling on love with eachother. The descriptions of love as a hunger, as violent, profane but beautiful and full of life. And its lesbians.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail

dannothedino's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Cannibalism and Abandonment