Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

5 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

Jotkin arvioijat ovat nostaneet esille sen, että Sapkowskin tekstistä paistaa läpi seksistisiä asenteita. No, koska kirja alkaa seksikohtauksella, jossa toinen osapuoli on ilmeisesti melko nuori, en yhtään ihmettele mistä nämä mielipiteet kumpuavat. Mielestäni naishahmojen nuoruus on jopa silmiinpistävää, ja heihin viitataan usein sanalla “tyttö”, eikä nainen. Kirjan hirviöt ovat lähes poikkeuksetta naispuolisia. Ja jos kirjan naishahmot pelastetaan hirviön kynsistä, heidän odotetaan osoittavan asiaankuuluvaa kiitollisuutta.

Kirjan rakenne on melkoisen sekava. Viimeinen toivomus koostuu useasta Noituri-tarinasta. Sen sijaan että ne olisi esitetty kokonaisena ja peräkkäin, ne on pilkottu toistensa lomaan kummallisena sillisalaattina. Tämä ehkä toimii sarjassa, mutta kirjassa lukijan täytyy olla todella hereillä.

Sapkowski lainailee elementtejä kansantaruista ja saduista. Tämä tuntuu hieman jopa laiskalta, sillä odotin, että kirjassa olisi enemmän keskitytty hirviöihin ja ylipäätänsäkin toimintaan. Sen sijaan Viimeinen toivomus on erittäin dialogipainotteinen. Voitaisiin jopa sanoa, että kirja on monologipainotteinen. Äänikirjaformaatissa se jollain tasolla toimii, koska mitä muutakaan äänikirja on, kun jonkun tyypin kertoman tarinan kuuntelemista. Yleisesti ottaen pidän silti enemmän siitä, että dialogi, toiminta ja kuvailu on enemmän tasapainossa. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

nyx_reads's review against another edition

Too much inappropriate content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual harassment

thunderstrikes's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Incest, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

booksthatburn's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

THE LAST WISH is a prequel to the Witcher main series, a collection of stories from Geralt’s life before the events of THE BLOOD OF ELVES. Each story is based or at least inspired by a fairy tale or bit of folklore.

I didn’t get much of a sense of Geralt from these stories alone, but having read the first book of the main series his characterization here seemed consistent with that. The titular story, “The Last Wish” had really strong characterization with an early meeting of Yennifer. She’s really well-written here, and that story alone is enough for me to recommend this to anyone interested in the broader series.

As a collection of fairytale retellings, I enjoyed this. It approaches most of them from strange angles which meant they felt great and fresh as stories. My favorite is the one which is clearly inspired by Beauty and the Beast. Given the blend of magic and corrupted desires already present in the series, the fairy tales fit right into the world of the Witcher.

Because this a collection of short stories from Geralt’s life before the main series of books, it doesn’t quite work to analyze the ending or an overall plot. I suspect a re-read might make it clearer, but the framing between stories was confusing to me and it wasn’t until several stories in that I figured out that the start of each chapter strung together to create an narrative distinct from the individual stories. 

This is good for anyone looking for additional Witcher content, but I don’t work it works well on its own or as a first introduction to the character and the world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Incest, Suicide, Torture, and Sexual harassment

horizonous's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, and Torture