Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan

4 reviews

misterwisp's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.0

It's good! This was a great read. The main character development is strong. The book starts out with him living as an outlaw band member in a forest. His journey from there is compelling and unpredictable. The writing is good and pulls you into the story. The setting is a fairly standard low magic fantasy world and feels very much like an alternate medieval Europe. But having said that, it's well articulated and well executed so the standard type world didn't detract from the reading experience for me. The action parts were well done and the book makes you feel invested in the characters.
 
The tone is definitely dark and things get pretty violent at times, but it didn't feel like a "grimdark" book. It's not that the book is hopeful exactly but there is a resiliency and perseverance to the main character that keeps the grimdark bleakness and meaninglessness vibe from creeping in. There is always a sense of purpose happening. 

Religion is a big theme in the book and seems like it's going to continue to be for the rest of the series. It's hard to say where that thread is going but I liked that the main character was a cynic about it, and that the role of it in the story wasn't purely to have a cliche religion is bad/corrupt statement. It was more nuanced and interesting than that. There didn't seem to be any messaging intended, it's just part of the setting and how the story plays out. 

Wanting to see what happens with the main character and the little drops of intrigue about magic stuff made we want to pick up the next book. I'm cautiously optimistic it will be a worthwhile trilogy. This first book was a satisfying experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

There is a fair amount of horse death. It's not graphic, but the characters are all pretty indifferent to it.

leedolee'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A very interesting plot where the story heads in varying directions when you expect it to go a certain way. The characters are all rather intriguing and vastly different from one another. All in all, a very entertaining read through and through! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

levic's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

samhackett's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Absolutely loved this! Not a 5 star because it could've been about 100 pages shorter, but I loved the story and I truly felt as if I were a part of the world. My first Anthony Ryan read and I'm definitely reading more!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry and War

Minor: Sexual content