Scan barcode
eliasaurus's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
The other reviews are right that it deserves every trigger warning under the sun, but this is the best high fantasy I've read in a long time. The characters are all so interesting and well fleshed out, the writing (though not always easy) is engaging because it's perfectly in the protagonist's voice, the plot is twisty and turny... It's basically perfect.
All the seemingly disparate story elements end up being relevant. If you get through the first hundred or so pages, you won't be able to put down the rest.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit
Minor: Racism, Islamophobia, and Cannibalism
trippalli's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
thenymphsvoice's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
However that’s not a bad thing. BLRW is a wild ride, I found the characters compelling, funny, sad, rage inducing.
This story was not afraid to deal with harsh realities even if this is a fantasy.
Trackers life is disjointed and many times dehumanizing. They struggle to understand themselves and their world, as it often changes with the snap of a finger around them.
They adapt they hurt, they grow or don’t in the perfectly imperfect way people do.
What I would say to anyone going into reading this is, prepare yourself to not always understand what is happening. That is a reflection of the characters confusion of events and the way their life has been broken by the traumas they have and do endure. (At least that’s how it read to me.)
The mystery and journey is second to me to the journey that Tracker is on in their own head. Invest in Trackers experience.
Also… if you can think of it Trigger/Content Warning. It’s in this book. Be prepared.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War
Just like all the things, this book is not for the faint of heart or easily triggered.t_thekla's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
lotsa bad stuffgone_awry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Colonisation, and War
nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
2.5
Honestly, I’m still not quite sure what happened... second half is stronger when it comes to linear plot lines. The first half jumped around a lot and it was hard to keep track of what was going on. Making this book was very hard to get though.
Very rapey and everything was described sexually... like everything... even inanimate objects.
The trigger warnings above were depicted extremely graphic so please take them seriously and tread carefully.
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
rrovezzi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Murder
myrto's review against another edition
0.5
To elaborate, I found the writing to be very convoluted and purposefully confusing. I will admit that I'm generally not good with books that are written on the more abstract side of things and therefore, I struggled greatly with following the plot. To be completely fair, I was intersted at certain points but for the most part, I kept zoning out. While it's a book with a strong fantasy element and a very rich worldbuilding I could visualise almost none of it and could hardly understand where everyone was, was going etc.
As for my other issue... Oh boy. The number of characters that haven't murdered/raped/enslaved or been murdered/raped/enslaved in this book is... zero? Apparently, this was marketed as an African Game of Thrones but in reality it makes Game of Thrones look like a bedtime story for kindergarteners. This book if filled to the brim with graphic descriptions murder, rape, gang-rape, mutilation, sex, bestiality, slavery, genitals, butts, bodily fluids and everything and anything that can be considered explicit in its content. I would argue that the vast majority of these scenes had no impact on the plot and therefore served no purpose other than to set the mood? But there are only so many rapes of underaged children that are needed for that and so many that I can stomach. And don't get me started on all the unnecessary and frankly disgusting tidbits about genitals, excrements, and scents. I kid you not, our protagonist has a nose and this entails smelling things like this:
"I did not tell her there were two different shits in this cloth, one from him and another from him pleasuring someone's ass."
I think it's clear enough that I would NOT recommend this book and I would urge anyone considering reading this to look up more reviews because there are a lot of people who are far more eloquent than I am and possibly a lot with different opinions.
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Grief