Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

16 reviews

atla98's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Torture, and Gore

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Rape

booksthatburn's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The worldbuilding leans on characterization and brutality, with few aesthetic descriptions. The major groups are the Scholars, the Tribes, and the Martials, with the Rebels generally composed of Scholars who are trying to resist the Martials. There are a few other groups mentioned, but they weren't major players in this first book, and at a certain point it matters more whether someone is a Mask, slave, Augur, or part of the Resistance. I like books which are full of plans and political tensions over scenery, so I enjoyed this emphasis on individuals and factions. 

For those who enjoy love triangles, this has an innovation on the form: Laia and Elias each have two people to choose between. As the protagonists they're of course drawn to each other, but Laia has a smoldering attraction to one of the rebels, and Elias is slowly realizing he might have romantic feelings for his best friend (the only female Mask in his generation). These tensions aren't completely resolved in this book either, leaving room for this to develop more in the next one. I like both options for each of them, and it feels like there's a genuine question over what they'll choose. For those who are a little less into such plots, it's a consistent but not overwhelming thread and there's plenty else to like.  

The plot begins with Elias and Laia on two sides of the same raid, where Laia's grandparents are killed and her brother is kidnapped, while Elias is one of the Masks carrying out the invasion. The chapters frequently overlap, with each narrator sometimes beginning their chapter by telling their perspective on an event or a slice of time which was just told by the other. Since they generally have completely different experiences, I like this overlapping style but it took a little getting used to. It made it feel more like they were each narrating what was important to them, uncaring and unknowing of what the other described. Laia asks the Rebels for help getting her brother back, and is placed as a slave to the Commandant of the Academy where Elias is. Elias was planning to escape, but is told by an Augur that the only way to actually be free is if first he stays. The rest of the story unfolds as Laia tries to get information to the rebels and survive her enslavement, while Elias tries to survive the gauntlet of challenges to be the next emperor (a title he doesn't even want). 

One thing I appreciate about this book is that in a system so controlling and overseen by (basically) mind-reading (probably) immortal Augurs who never explain their own goals, it would make very little sense for the heroes to have genuine agency over their lives at a macro level. So they don't. They don't have control over how things will go, their plans keep working out very differently than they even dared to hope, and they frequently suffer for it. They're constantly in danger and often get hurt, Laia from the Commandant's whims or Elias from the challenges themselves. When things do go well, an Augur usually turns up to tell Elias how he's done what they wanted, yet again. It's frustrating but completely in keeping with the brutality and sheer mind-fuckery of the situation. Because they have so little control, most of the plot focuses on how they feel and what they decided to do in the small moments they do have.

I enjoyed this and plan to read the rest of the series, this is an exciting and well-paced beginning to the quartet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, and Rape

Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

veeronald's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Violence, Rape, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Confinement

Moderate: Classism, Torture, Blood, Sexual content, Suicide, Trafficking, Genocide, Child abuse, Murder, Vomit, Bullying, Colonisation, and Death

Minor: War, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

griffinthief's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Blood, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit and Trafficking

karapillar's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Sexual assault, Blood, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, Child abuse, Torture, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Vomit, Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, Murder, Kidnapping, Racism, Abortion, Confinement, Death of parent, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Pregnancy

kkm88's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, War, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Grief, and Genocide

Minor: Racism, Vomit, Rape, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Child death

bookishchef's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Slavery, Classism, Grief, Blood, Cursing, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: War, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Genocide, Rape, and Trafficking

Minor: Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy

marissasa's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

This book made me love the dystopian genre again, and pulled off the angst and pain iconic to this genre incredibly well while still having believable characters on both the "good" and "bad" sides. I live for characters questioning their morals and their identities, and our main two Laia and Elias were constantly doing this throughout the story. I also loved that despite the harrowing situations they lived through and are still facing in the story's current timeline, they are still teenagers and actually act like it at appropriate times. They may be hardened by the realities of losing their families or being raised as ruthless soldiers, but they still show raw emotions and act based on their feelings, they still long for freedom and try to maintain friendships despite being in situations where self-preservation is more logical. There was also more brutality and violence than I expected in the book but it wasn't without purpose, as it helped define the world that they live in and the harsh reality of the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized. Sabaa Tahir did so well at building tension and having real, meaningful stakes in both Laia's spy mission and in Elias' decisions during the Trials. The last act of the book was particularly great to read, I actually felt my heart pounding at some of the very tense life or death moments and felt satisfied with the ending as it was but engaged enough to be excited for the rest of the series to pick up where it left off. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Death of parent, Genocide, Vomit, Blood, Colonisation, Grief, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

thereadingferret's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent and Blood

Minor: Stalking, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Rape, and Slavery

b3ck's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Abortion and Vomit