Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

4 reviews

claremcg's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Still interested in the world and the bigger questions this book raises, but overall it wasn't as strong as Axiom's End. The plot felt more aimless and contrived at points and the alien characters less completing. The biggest drawback for me was how dark the content matter got, and how uncritically much of  it was presented. The reading experience was so dark I almost gave up reading at multiple points.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

wrzlprmft's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Hate crime, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Genocide, Infertility, Torture, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

stormywolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

 Audiobook Read by Abigail Thorn, Kaveh Taherian, and Stephanie Willis
Unabridged Length: 17.3 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed

Read my full review at The Wolf's Den

Overall, this was a great improvement and continuation of what came before. The new cast member added even more authenticity to the production (which was only fair considering his "consultant" status) and expertly ushered me through the bits of Farsi/Farglish that Kaveh and his family used throughout. I am both scared—considering how devastated this book left me at times—and excited for what comes next, and am eagerly awaiting the next update. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Infertility, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Dementia

Author's Note includes content warnings for trauma, post-traumatic stress, depression, addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, mental illness, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, attempted suicide, completed suicide, violent self-harm, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, racially motivated violence, anti-Semitism, racial slurs, and (while she wouldn't consider it sexual violence) some uncomfortable sexual situations.

balfies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective fast-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

The sequel to Axiom's End which I read last year. Lindsay Ellis is my fave video essayist, and her second novel, Truth Of The Divine, delivers. 

The promise of the series - an alien first contact story set within post 9/11 Bush administration (well, now the Cheney administration for them) - continues to interrogate how American militarism, conspiracy, exceptionalism, and immigrant cultures react to the warring factions between intergalactic asylum seekers.

Must reiterate - I am not big on sci fi or fantasy usually, but I make an exception for Lindsay, in part because I wanna support her but mostly because she's an excellent, witty writer and I trust her voice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Dementia, and Religious bigotry