Reviews tagging 'War'

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

1456 reviews

witchofottawacounty's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

3.75

You could skip chapters 13 and pages 338-364 and I’d be happy. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Rape, Homophobia, and Sexual assault

jynxxcyndi's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Homophobia and Slavery

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

sarah_hutchins's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape

sunshine_sophia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

probably an unpopular opinion, but i did not like this book very much. i love greek mythology and classic retellings, but this fell flat for me. i found it to be painfully boring at times, and monotonous. i read about half of it, then i had to finish it by listening to an audiobook to help me finish it. 

there were times when YEARS passed in the book, and there were no major developments - plot or character. also, i find the trojan war itself to be boring, so i am not quite sure what i expected getting into this book. i felt that there was little to no character development. patroclus started out weak and submissive, and pretty much ended that was as well. achilles was often seen as stoic and unemotional and was only moved by his grief

after patroclus' death

. 

i am emotional and a hopeless romantic, so of course i did cry at

patroclus' death and the very last sentence when they were finally reunited in the underworld

. that was emotional. i knew of

achille's death because of my knowledge of greek mythology, but was not expecting patroclus' death

. 

overall, this was a bit of a pain to get through, and outside of the love story (as tragic as it was), there was not much substance to it. i am disappointed by the book, but also relieved that it is over. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia

altarieltelemnar's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Animal death, Cursing, Sexual content, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Slavery, Violence, Murder, and War

badmom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

5.0

The choice of first person narrative through Patroclus is clever & moving, giving the entire story more emotional depth, in addition to adding an outside perspective to one of the most famous Greek heroes. 

The historical references and details of weaponry & battle are peripheral; the bulk of attention is spent humanizing the characters through their lesser-known thoughts & behaviors. 

In the end, this well-known war story becomes a rich, beautiful examination of friendship, love, & family. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Misogyny, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Slavery, and Infidelity

srolocs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape

biobeetle's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

bluedilly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Slavery, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Self harm, and Sexual content

Moderate: Medical content, Abandonment, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Classism, Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, and Vomit

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death of parent, and Homophobia

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense 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

 It's always wyd and never "If I had words to speak such a thing, I would have. But there were none that seemed big enough for it, to hold that swelling truth." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy