Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Los pilares de la tierra 1 by Ken Follett

129 reviews

twonky's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s hard for me to imagine holding on to hatred as long as these characters do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, and War

There’s a LOT of violence, bit it’s the Middle Ages.

julierambaeck's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.0

This was a 2 star for me, and I think that is entirely my fault for picking this book up. This is not a book for me, and I should've known that. I can see and appreciate that this is a masterpiece, just one I didn't enjoy reading. It was waaaay to violent and explicit. 
I am glad I have read it, but it felt like a chore to get through - it took me two months to get through!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and War

ebullientbunny's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

alliegator13's review against another edition

5.0

Intricate plot; it’s highly enjoyable to see how the cast of characters’ actions and motives influence each other and the course of their lives. I loved the premise- everything being tied to the construction of a cathedral. The political intrigue, romance, familial tragedy, betrayal, and secrecy was all fantastic and entertaining. Plenty of good guys to root for and bad guys to dread.

The female characters, while interesting, are very highly sexualized. The male characters are not, and it took me out of the story. I felt like, instead of reading a book by a third-party omniscient narrator, I was reading a story narrated by a straight man. I was seeing the female characters through the eyes of a straight man. It takes away from the engrossing story, the world building, and the immersion. Additionally, there was no need for the graphic depictions of sexual assault and rape. Much of that could have been done off-camera. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

nostalgicloaf's review against another edition

dark informative tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

themdash's review against another edition

I gave up after the hot forest outlaw raped the main dude who was lowkey dying of exposure/starvation next to his sleeping children literal hours they had just buried their mother and left the infant whose birth killed her to die

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

themoistmaker's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

marisample's review against another edition

challenging dark informative 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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

rosietomyn's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

kellyodell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I did the audiobook version of this and, whew, IT WAS LONG!! It took my 2 library rentals to get through it.

I decided to read The Pillars of the Earth because a friend, and avid reader, told me it was his favorite book ever. He liked it so much than he always kept extra copies to give to people. With a recommendation like that, how could I not read it?!

Unfortunately, this was not a book for me. I found it dragged and the villains of the book just keep going on their merry way being HORRIBLE people. When listening to the audiobook, it felt like there was too much jumping around in storylines and it was difficult to keep characters and stories straight. I would not recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence