Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo

17 reviews

entityj's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Racism

Moderate: Classism and Xenophobia

Minor: Homophobia, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

jordieisfarrell's review

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

This is great if you are really into magical realism and an almost strictly character-driven story. For me, it was hard to get into and once I did I was rocking with it for a while, and then towards the end, it just lost my interest again. I get what the author was trying to do but it just fell kind of flat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Gore

shinypurplepants's review against another edition

dark

• 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

Fantastic! A weirdly horrific look at what Hollywood does to those (but especially queer women of color) that seek its approval. Magical and thrilling.

Recommended for fans of magical realism, feminist re-imaginings of monsters, and those that love the otherworldly nature you get from tales of the world behind the Silver Screen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Racial slurs

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I love Nghi Vo's novellas (When The Tiger Came Down The Mountain is one of my favourite books) but this book did not work for me. I'm not surprised to find in the author's note that chronologically this is their first novel because it really does feel like a debut. There is not enough story to sustain a full length novel, but somehow the book still feels long. The writing style is also extremely fanficcy (the "all [noun] and [noun]" physical descriptors, the characters making parenthetical interjections throughout for no reason) and the romances are silly and over the top. None of the prominent characters are that interesting, and the book does that annoying thing from historical fiction where the character lays out the hardships of a certain setting and then goes, "but not me though!" as if they're better than all the real people who went through those situations.

I will say though that the world was very interesting (even if we didn't get to see a lot of it) and the way the magic was used to emphasize real world issues was mostly well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Infidelity

lucystolethesky's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Kidnapping, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia

ninjamuse's review

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Abortion, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment

magneto's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/injury detail

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

'Siren Queen' by Nghi Vo is an evocative and beautifully crafted novel about a Chinese American girl who infiltrates the murky studios of Hollywood in the early 1930s to become a film star. 
Luli Wang grows up above the laundry her family runs in Hungarian Hill. When she discovers her local movie theater and sees her first silent film, she falls in love with the movies. When offered the chance to be an extra in a movie shooting in her neighborhood, she jumps at the opportunity. This sets her on the path to becoming a film star herself, navigating the haunting backlots of the Hollywood studios, her own sexuality, and the racism that permeates society. 
Vo pairs her lyrical prose with a paranormal take on early Hollywood to create a haunting tale about the film industry, stardom, and racism. Luli Wang is the perfect main character between her confidence, willingness to disrupt systems, and determination to be a star without playing servants or femme fatales like her predecessors. 
One of the greatest aspects of this novel is the atmosphere. I felt almost as if I was in a dream between Vo's prose, the shifting paranormal world of demons and deals that is the backlot of the studios, and the way Vo amplifies history through speculative elements. I was never quite sure what was happening but that was intentional as Luli is dealing with the same issues. She stands so clearly amongst this shifting world that it further solidifies her character. 
I also loved the overall themes in this story including the importance of monstrosity, living as a queer person amongst a world that tries to suppress you, and the racism and misogyny of Hollywood. 
If you enjoyed 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' but would like to see what it would be like with more monsters and speculative elements, you need to pick up 'Siren Queen.' I think it's Vo's greatest work yet and I can't wait to see where she goes next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

anxiousnachos's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

4.5

4.5 stars. Siren Queen has again proved how much I adore Nghi Vo’s writing. She has such beauty and a delicate hand with her prose, it always feels like stepping out of a dream when I finish reading. I particularly loved the way folklore and mythology was embedded into Siren Queen, woven into the magic of the world and into the dark underbelly of Hollywood. 

Content warnings: racism, slurs, homophobia, sexual harassment, abuse in Hollywood, misogyny, physical child abuse, blood and gore, self-mutilation, fire, sex, pregnancy, discussions of abortion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Blood, Violence, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Abortion, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

readandfindout's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Style/writing: 5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Abortion

Minor: Sexual assault