Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Seven Devils by Elizabeth May, L.R. Lam

10 reviews

alex_conners's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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

I was riding along at a solid 3.5 for most of this book. The last 100 pages had me bump it up. I really did not think Eris was going to be captured and that Sher was going to be compromised. We spend most of the book thinking Damocles somewhat incompetent, or at least obvious in his plans. I wasn't expecting the long con from him in terms of catching the rebels. I desperately want to know how a leader of the resistance was compromised so well no one noticed for a period of months at least.

I'm so invested I'll be reading the sequel immediately.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Classism

Moderate: War

Minor: Genocide, Torture, Transphobia, and Colonisation

gxbi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, Vomit, and Medical trauma

_bookbug's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

That was...a ride. The idea was really good but the execution was just okay ig. The characters and plot had great potential but the pacing was kinda off. The middle part was so slow and for most of the time I didn't know where the plot was heading. That made it difficult to be totally invested in the happenings. Also, the romance was too rushed

I mean, talking once and boom they're in love? Meh

 
Two of the big plottwists at the end were kind of obvious if you paid attention (to the story and the cover *cough*) so they didn't surprised me. 

But overall I thought it is a good book and if you enjoy queer science fiction this isn't a bad pick.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Incest

theuncannydani's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Xenophobia

relin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Transphobia, and Kidnapping

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

Seven Devils features an undercover team of women seeking to bring down an empire and maybe go to a ball while they're at it. There's a great heist moment as well as battling in space, commandeering imperial ships, and investigating secrets be they hidden on backwater planets or in imperial palaces. This was a smooth, cinematic reading experience with snappy action scenes and the vivid, unfamiliar locales that make space operas so enticing.

All our leading ladies have their voices heard in this adventure. The POVs are distinctive and well-developed, providing insight into how each found the resistance and what wrongs the empire did to bring them to this risky endeavor. There's one pleasant sapphic romance just starting to blossom, but the majority is focused on the found family bonds that form among the crew. Each connection point is poignant and delivered convincingly. I also want to shout out the ace representation in Ariadne, hacker extraordinaire, genius, and absolute ray of sunshine. There's also a badass trans woman who I think we'll see more of in the sequel.

In terms of world-building, I think fans of the genre will find it light and approachable. The book makes use of science fiction standbys like AI and mental conditioning/brainwashing to add some further moral questions to the struggle against a massive, dominating imperial power. I look forward to seeing how the plot develops in the sequel, and I am excited to get to know the two late additions to the team much better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Slavery, Transphobia, Blood, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War

lycanhood's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, and Colonisation

starccato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug use, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol

nakutski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

Mixed feelings about this one! So a 3.75 rating overall from me.

Things I liked: 
1) Variety of characters and POVs.
2) The fact that the writers managed to maintain a clear and cohesive narrative despite the many POVs. 
3) QUEER REP. All the unashamed queerness and friendship and camaraderie. 
4) A very readable writing style.
5) Intricate but not overcomplicated world building.

The pace was a bit hit and miss for me. (I may be in a reading slump.) At times I found it quite slow. At times I also wished for a little more depth and detail, more hooks to really get me in there to connect. I found the first 2/3 interesting but eventually started to think that it was all a bit... too easy? The last third of the narrative really picks up and surges. So on the back of that, I look forward to the second book. I want to see how things unfold.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual content