Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

34 reviews

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Medical trauma, War, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Trafficking

sloogkat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

This book is a good time! It's got a lot of good lore/world building/a tangible magic system. I do wish the magic system was a little more crunchy and logical, but I also enjoy that it's kind of mutable and subject to argument. It's definitely a unique system that I haven't seen before. 

 I like the characters quite a bit, especially the fact that the main character is kind of a grubby dirty asshole most of the time, which is rare to see in a female protagonist. The pacing is also good,  and the setting is vibrant and makes me want to learn more about all the little nooks and crannies of this world. I do think they characters could be slightly more fleshed out, but overall it's a small nitpick. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Murder, and War

adragoninspace's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, and Murder

stick2theplan's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this book and will probably read the sequel, but it’s not without its flaws. Foundryside required me to actively suspend my disbelief and hold it at bay. My foes in this task included an

ancient, sentient key

, whose anachronistic manner of speaking most closely resembled the “hello, fellow kids” meme, and a magic system that made less sense the more it was explained. And it was explained a lot.

Once I forced myself not to think too hard about it, I did enjoy Foundryside for what it is: a heist novel. The plot itself was solid and the pacing was good, though the ending felt a little abrupt. The book was laden with twists and reveals, some of which were very well executed. I also found the lore interesting. Because none of the POV characters understood the lore, it didn’t suffer from the over-explaining that hindered the magic/technology of the present. 

As for the characters, they were mostly likable but satisfyingly complex. There was appreciable, earned growth from all the secondary characters. I think I was most underwhelmed with the main character’s arc. I’d like to have seen more of her development manifest throughout the novel; it was sort of spelled out for her by a literal deus ex machina. So much telling, not enough showing in this book. Still, the characters did feel fleshed out. The tropey stock characters were few and far between. That said, Bennet uses the antagonist-to-ally bait and switch one time too many for the eventual antagonist reveal to have much shock value. 

At the end of the day, this is still a novel I’ll recommend to my friends. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Vomit, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, and Car accident

idkimoutofideas's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, and Alcohol

michealasharp's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Slavery, and Murder

thelostsockdrawer's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

raneyak's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

Really enjoyed it! Good world building and an interesting magic system. Points docked for the lackluster romance buildup and overuse of the word “scrumming”.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Vomit, and War

skrulls's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

beebidon's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury