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sai_like_sigh's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and War
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol
ampharos906's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Slavery
eb00kie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
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
3.0
I read this as a young adult and barely remembered it. So I read it again 12 years later as an adult.
I imagine it was groundbreaking for its time but then and now it struck me as a beginner — a precursor to Vimes’ aggressive decency themes. The idea is there, the parallels are there, but it’s less cohesive and too light for the implied torture and deaths it’s peppered with. A bit disjointed and blunt.
Having said that, Brutha is a character with a very well-written arc. Through him, the story of human failings and weaknesses is much easier to empathise than the biblical prophet stories it’s mirroring. The character of Om also underwent an arc, which is even rarer, because it’s less of a shift in personality, which might have felt forced, as a shift in perspective.
The book covers a lot of themes: religion, multi-religion systems, philosophy, layrinths, engineering, the Inquisition, democracies vs. theocracies, gods and free will.
I imagine it was groundbreaking for its time but then and now it struck me as a beginner — a precursor to Vimes’ aggressive decency themes. The idea is there, the parallels are there, but it’s less cohesive and too light for the implied torture and deaths it’s peppered with. A bit disjointed and blunt.
Having said that, Brutha is a character with a very well-written arc. Through him, the story of human failings and weaknesses is much easier to empathise than the biblical prophet stories it’s mirroring. The character of Om also underwent an arc, which is even rarer, because it’s less of a shift in personality, which might have felt forced, as a shift in perspective.
The book covers a lot of themes: religion, multi-religion systems, philosophy, layrinths, engineering, the Inquisition, democracies vs. theocracies, gods and free will.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Murder
petitemass15's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
viktorreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Murder
jodean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Torture, Murder, and War
Minor: Animal death and Blood