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monicalaurette's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"She had cost too much to die."
This book was just so much, I had read Gideon the Ninth a while ago and should have possibly read a summary and re-read the summary for this book before reading because I felt like I was dropped into a story half-way through. just so much confusion while reading and while it was a fun story and I was getting like angry and being so confused haha.
One thing that I was just a little thrown off on, that I don't remember being so prominent in GtN was pop culture references in the book and how some of them just didn't feel like they fit with the story, just something the author wanted to add in. But I thought the 'S' was a funny little touch to nostalgia.
One thing that I was just a little thrown off on, that I don't remember being so prominent in GtN was pop culture references in the book and how some of them just didn't feel like they fit with the story, just something the author wanted to add in. But I thought the 'S' was a funny little touch to nostalgia.
The only thing our civilization can ever learn from yours is that when our backs are to the wall and our towers are falling all around us and we are watching ourselves burn we rarely become heroes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
sourcherrysyrup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Tamsyn Muir really shows incredible range with this book. I felt like I was wading through the character’s mind, suffering alongside her and just as confused and lost as she was. The way she slowly reveals the circumstances of the story to both her characters and readers is genius.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Suicide and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
bootrat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cannibalism
kateheth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
5.0
11 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
kerrythefire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
I don't think I've ever been so ambivalent about a book before. I think the biggest thing is that it didn't need to be this long, and while Tamsyn Muir's writing is really visual and paints a very clear picture of what's happening, most of this book was just exposition and telling what was happening... and that gets old after a while.
It was intentionally confusing for about the first 2/3 which, honestly wasn't a deal breaker for me because I picked up on the fact that I didn't actually need to be paying super close attention to try to make it all make sense or put the seemingly mismatched pieces together. The individual vignettes, as I'll call them, we're interesting enough to keep me listening as background noise, but I was really just waiting for when everything would be explained. That starts with the Epiparodos of Act IV and then Act V is basically where all the "story" actually happens.
The use of second person for some of the chapters was well done. It did lend to more of the exposition telling that weighed the book down, but it worked well for why it was being used in the story (which I guessed pretty early on, but if you didn't, I can see this making the whole first 2/3 even more confusing and hard to follow). In general, this book asked a lot of readers: it asked for you to wade through a lot of mystery and chaos for more than half the book to get to the real story, it asked you to keep track of multiple names for the same characters, it asked you to sit through a lot of telling vs. showing...
I did like the story overall, it just took too long to get there and we spent too long in thefalse memories stage of Acts I - IV. I don't think I'm invested enough to read the next two books. I'll just read the wiki page synopses if I feel like I need some closure.
The cover art is still 🔥 though!
It was intentionally confusing for about the first 2/3 which, honestly wasn't a deal breaker for me because I picked up on the fact that I didn't actually need to be paying super close attention to try to make it all make sense or put the seemingly mismatched pieces together. The individual vignettes, as I'll call them, we're interesting enough to keep me listening as background noise, but I was really just waiting for when everything would be explained. That starts with the Epiparodos of Act IV and then Act V is basically where all the "story" actually happens.
The use of second person for some of the chapters was well done. It did lend to more of the exposition telling that weighed the book down, but it worked well for why it was being used in the story (which I guessed pretty early on, but if you didn't, I can see this making the whole first 2/3 even more confusing and hard to follow). In general, this book asked a lot of readers: it asked for you to wade through a lot of mystery and chaos for more than half the book to get to the real story, it asked you to keep track of multiple names for the same characters, it asked you to sit through a lot of telling vs. showing...
I did like the story overall, it just took too long to get there and we spent too long in the
The cover art is still 🔥 though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
isaaah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and War
krisalexcole's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Vomit, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War
kys_chai_and_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
5.0
This book, on the re-read, is one of my favorites to date. It's challenging and heartbreaking and tense, and frankly confusing as hell the first time you read it. But it's worth it for the experience of fuguring out the layered mysteries at the end-- and seeing the threads on the reread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Abandonment
Second book in the Locked Tomb seriesamillionkeys's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
coulson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
A highly enjoyable read. Takes some big swings with style and premise after the first book and executes them beautifully. I loved getting to zoom out a bit and start detangling a lot of the lore; if there's one thing Muir is good at, it's leaving you in complete confusion until sudden, exhilarating moments of clarity. Unfortunately, as in Gideon, that sometimes means lackluster pacing – the beginnings drag, the ends race. That said, this book is also well-primed to theorize with it as it goes along, which was so much fun. Also, doomed yuri and gay sex. Heartbreaking, brilliant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Child death