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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Minor: Pregnancy, Racism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Murder, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, War, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Cursing, Gaslighting, Slavery, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Stalking, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking
badbadwolf's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Pregnancy, Torture, Gore, Grief, War, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Animal death, Child death, Body horror, Classism, Infertility, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty
cinhein's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The first Sanderson book that was genuinely a slog to get through.
It is distinctly mid-2000s in vibe (not complimentary).
And no, the sex slave-slaver romance will never work no matter how you try to justify it.
There are 3 good characters here, and I spent most of the book hoping that everybody would die violently else. Not a great response to trigger for a book with a main theme of 'war bad'.
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Confinement, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexism, and Physical abuse
Minor: Miscarriage
takarakei's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
I just honestly had a GOOD ASS TIME reading this book. Really enjoyed the characters! Lightsong especially was just hilarious (also one of my fav tropes: the reluctant hero). The interactions between characters was fun to read, good banter. Sanderson is really good at writing distinctly different povs and then weaving them into a storyline that comes together in the end. THE MAGIC SYSTEM is SO cool! Felt like magic created for visual artists for sure.
The ending was what is described as a typical "Sanderlanche" where there's really a point of no return while reading and you're not gonna wanna put it down. So much happens at the end it's a lil nuts in a "I'm at 96% in this book and HOW is this gonna end" way - and how it does end is a little abrupt. Supposedly, Sanderson is going to write more in this world, and I could definitely see how that's possible with where things end (although it is definitely still a standalone so no worries about a cliffhanger).
So far... this is my top rated Sanderson book, but I've just started Stormlight and was told to read this before Words of Radiance (which I have HIGH expectations for).
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: War, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Rape
aleyajo's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Death, Blood, Body horror, and Gore
bergha1998's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Fantasy, Magic System, Multi-POV
Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death, Murder, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Confinement, Alcoholism, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, War, Death of parent, and Blood
samxe12's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Blood
thecheeseowl's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
*Spoilers ahead*
one hand the world building in this book is fantastic with a magic system that was fully thoughtout and brings a lot to the world. But I don't think it was explained to the audience as well as it could have.
I like Seubron, Siri, Vivenna, and Lightsong. They are fun to root for and bring a good through line throughout the book. But most of the other important characters changed sides late into the book causing me to lose in vestment in all of them. It got to the point where most of reveals started to feel cheap.
The book unceremoniously kills Blushweaver. Her death was only used to develop Lightsong as a character and did not feel like it was a natural conclusion for her story.
Graphic: Rape, War, and Blood
Moderate: Gore
rheagoveas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Blood
dorythereader's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death, War, and Murder
Minor: Torture