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crypticspren'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
5.0
The plot itself and general lore is fascinating. The concept of eating books for knowledge, the 'Eater lore regarding their creator and mission, and their whole heirarchical structure with the Families, Knights, and Dragons was so well explored and explained.
The writing, too, was thoroughly gripping and this book was entirely unputdownable. I've been in a bit of a reading slump and this pulled me right out of it.
Overall, this was an exceptional read with drama, suspense, and moral conundrums that had me gasping for air.
Five stars!
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Vomit, Trafficking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
imds's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
kurumipanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Acephobia/Arophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
rainbowrachel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Trafficking, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia and Pregnancy
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Even at the end I was totally unclear on how book eating was supposed to work. The characters' homes are full of intact books and they have fangs so I assumed they drained the book's "essence" or something, but later a character is putting ketchup on one, or soaking it in water to make it easier to eat. Book eating is always sort of elided, which is kind of funny because mind eating (a sort of mutation that some book eaters have that requires them to eat brains) is so vividly described on multiple occasions.
The characters all sound the same and half the book is characters describing events that have already happened to each other, so there isn't much suspense until right at the end. There is one problem that hangs over the characters for most of the runtime but then is IMMEDIATELY solved the second it actually comes up, which felt kind of pointless.
The romance is terrible; the characters barely talk and suddenly the kid is calling them girlfriends. This woman is the only one the main character really interacts with, which is sort of weird for a book billing itself as feminist. She looks at most other women with either pity or scorn. There is an extremely weird chapter where characters quote the dictionary definition of asexuality at each other that ends up being almost insulting, and the "I ruined a baby with my son's Autism Beam" bit was ridiculous.
I have no idea what the book was trying to say: parental love can be self destructive? Fairy tales destroy the imagination? The author really likes Tomb Raider and needs to make sure we know it?
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Car accident