Scan barcode
max_pink's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
One of the worst feelings you can get from reading a book is feeling sleazy for engaging with it.
Another terrible feeling is sighing at lines that try way too hard to be epic every few pages.
And fast-forwarding past footnotes that do absolutely nothing but slow the pacing to a crawl.
And being annoyed at the fetishy treatment of teenagers, lesbians, and brown people.
Did I actually like anything about this? Uh. The world is kind of interesting? I liked Carlotta. Ashlinn was okay.
The teachers sucked, though.
Sigh. What a waste of hours.
Solid narration by Holter Graham, however.
Another terrible feeling is sighing at lines that try way too hard to be epic every few pages.
And fast-forwarding past footnotes that do absolutely nothing but slow the pacing to a crawl.
And being annoyed at the fetishy treatment of teenagers, lesbians, and brown people.
Did I actually like anything about this? Uh. The world is kind of interesting? I liked Carlotta. Ashlinn was okay.
The teachers sucked, though.
Sigh. What a waste of hours.
Solid narration by Holter Graham, however.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
whenjessreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I loved this book, I really did. I was expecting some sort of mild YA dark academia (why did I think this? I do not know) and what I got was a punch in the face of serious fantasy. It was surprising, refreshing, and after the first 100 pages or of set up the pacing was great and the characters intriguing.
The excessive metaphor was something I liked, although occasionally I had to read a phrase over a few times for comprehension.
The footnotes that the author used gave me flashbacks to the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud - adding humour and small infodumps via an unknown narrator. I do find them slightly jarring when trying to read a story smoothly, but if that’s the author’s style, what can you do? 😅
From what I can gather, this book is either loved or hated. The author is Australian - you can tell - and that’s pretty representative of the how the Australian personality is received in general.😅😂 This book was also pretty strong with the male gaze, although it wasn’t enough that it made me stop reading.
The one thing I will point out as being problematic is the author’s representation of Māori ta moko, or facial tattoos. Though Kristoff has said he didn’t intend for people to make that comparison, as someone of Māori heritage (though that should be irrelevant), I felt a bit uncomfortable reading it. I think without this I would have rated a 4 😊
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, and Cultural appropriation
hazychapters's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.0
I found this reading to be quite lengthy, 750 pages in French, with lengths, descriptions of little interest and useless. Still, the author has potential, but there are far too many similes and metaphors that quite often mean nothing (aka the oinking sea). I would have preferred that the information passed more clearly. The footnotes are far too numerous: I didn't read most of them because I was lost in my reading.
Wordbuilding is pretty good, even if we are drowned by pieces of information. They are useless to us since we do not travel in the universe. The atmosphere is actually quite good, very dark (small trigger warning). I just wish Mia's powers were more emphasized, this is one of her peculiarities, and it is not "used" and even left out for much of the story. Some characters were quite good, but I must admit I didn't appreciate the competitiveness between girls while the guys stay aside to watch the show… Big up to Mister Kindly. I loved him! He is very well thought out, original and brilliant! As for the end, I can't find much to say, except maybe "All that fuss for nothing?". We end up with a kind of reversal of the situation that made me a little angry because it concerns a character we only see twice. So whether he is there or not, it does not change the plot. I also find that his end does not stick to the characters. The author gives us specific pictures of his characters, but he does not even respect them.
I hated the hyper-sexualization of Mia and women in general. I didn't like how the author described the female body (which really embarrassed me and made me feel like an object or a curiosity). This femme fatale role could have been well thought out if it had not been glued to a 16-year-old girl. He wrote scenes of s*xual relationships between two children (16 and 17 years old), and I found that very unhealthy. I don't understand what this brings to the story apart from voyeurism and unease. I could also talk for hours about my anger at Mia's body "transformation" scene. She does not give her consent. I did not feel any rebellion on her part. Aalea has a tremendous hold on her to the point of handling her. But a woman does not have to answer the criteria set by men to be beautiful and desirable. Warning, also romanticization of death and suicide through metaphors; some people can be triggered.
Wordbuilding is pretty good, even if we are drowned by pieces of information. They are useless to us since we do not travel in the universe. The atmosphere is actually quite good, very dark (small trigger warning). I just wish Mia's powers were more emphasized, this is one of her peculiarities, and it is not "used" and even left out for much of the story. Some characters were quite good, but I must admit I didn't appreciate the competitiveness between girls while the guys stay aside to watch the show… Big up to Mister Kindly. I loved him! He is very well thought out, original and brilliant! As for the end, I can't find much to say, except maybe "All that fuss for nothing?". We end up with a kind of reversal of the situation that made me a little angry because it concerns a character we only see twice. So whether he is there or not, it does not change the plot. I also find that his end does not stick to the characters. The author gives us specific pictures of his characters, but he does not even respect them.
I hated the hyper-sexualization of Mia and women in general. I didn't like how the author described the female body (which really embarrassed me and made me feel like an object or a curiosity). This femme fatale role could have been well thought out if it had not been glued to a 16-year-old girl. He wrote scenes of s*xual relationships between two children (16 and 17 years old), and I found that very unhealthy. I don't understand what this brings to the story apart from voyeurism and unease. I could also talk for hours about my anger at Mia's body "transformation" scene. She does not give her consent. I did not feel any rebellion on her part. Aalea has a tremendous hold on her to the point of handling her. But a woman does not have to answer the criteria set by men to be beautiful and desirable. Warning, also romanticization of death and suicide through metaphors; some people can be triggered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Plastic surgery (in form of Magic), graphic sex scenes involving painful intercourse, threatened rape (several)antmalllow's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Nothing would have changed if she was 20 instead of 16 and it would have made the main relationship and book feel less creepy. The love interest seems to come from a culture that Maori based and is seen as coming from a culture that is vicious and backwards. The blood-speaker has so many anti-Semitic tropes. I really wanted to like this book but I can't ignore all of that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body shaming, Death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Child death