Reviews tagging 'Suicide'
Star Wars Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson
14 reviews
eatenbyabear's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
maeverose's review against another edition
2.75
TL;DR: I liked that we got a little more inquisitor content but I was bored for most of the book. It felt drawn out and repetitive.
This review might have some minor spoilers but nothing major.
This book felt very slow to me. The first 60% of it takes place during the clone wars, before Iskat becomes an Inquisitor. And while that’s my favorite era, it was very slow and repetitive. It felt like nothing much happened. A lot of it was Iskat’s internal monologue about how much of an outcast she is. It made sense to see how she became an inquisitor, but it felt really drawn out. And this is supposed to be about the inquisitors, so I found it odd that most of the book took place before they existed. We did learn a tiny bit more about them and how they came to be, but I wanted more.
I also didn’t realize that Iskat was from the comics until Tualon was introduced, then I remembered their story when I recognized his name. I don’t care for romance, so those parts annoyed me. Especially because their relationship often felt like petty YA angst. Iskat felt like an angsty teen throughout the whole book actually, so if you like YA you might like this more than I did.
I do think it was cool to have an adhd-coded main character. I’m a bit on the fence about how it was written though. Because Iskat isn’t familiar with her species she attributes her adhd-like traits to just being a feature of her species. This isn’t corrected at any point, even when she finds her home planet, so I’m left wondering if it’s true? In the author’s note Delilah S. Dawson said she herself is neurodivergent, so when I caught those traits in Iskat that was my first thought. It would’ve been nice to have more explict adhd representation, rather than it being kinda vague. Either way, it was neat to relate to the character in that way and see how that could effect her role as a jedi and inquisitor. Ironically though, I think part of the reason I struggled with getting through this book was because of my adhd… it was just too long and repetitive for me.
This review might have some minor spoilers but nothing major.
This book felt very slow to me. The first 60% of it takes place during the clone wars, before Iskat becomes an Inquisitor. And while that’s my favorite era, it was very slow and repetitive. It felt like nothing much happened. A lot of it was Iskat’s internal monologue about how much of an outcast she is. It made sense to see how she became an inquisitor, but it felt really drawn out. And this is supposed to be about the inquisitors, so I found it odd that most of the book took place before they existed. We did learn a tiny bit more about them and how they came to be, but I wanted more.
I also didn’t realize that Iskat was from the comics until Tualon was introduced, then I remembered their story when I recognized his name. I don’t care for romance, so those parts annoyed me. Especially because their relationship often felt like petty YA angst. Iskat felt like an angsty teen throughout the whole book actually, so if you like YA you might like this more than I did.
I do think it was cool to have an adhd-coded main character. I’m a bit on the fence about how it was written though. Because Iskat isn’t familiar with her species she attributes her adhd-like traits to just being a feature of her species. This isn’t corrected at any point, even when she finds her home planet, so I’m left wondering if it’s true? In the author’s note Delilah S. Dawson said she herself is neurodivergent, so when I caught those traits in Iskat that was my first thought. It would’ve been nice to have more explict adhd representation, rather than it being kinda vague. Either way, it was neat to relate to the character in that way and see how that could effect her role as a jedi and inquisitor. Ironically though, I think part of the reason I struggled with getting through this book was because of my adhd… it was just too long and repetitive for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, War, and Mental illness
Moderate: Torture, Blood, Death of parent, and Suicide
Minor: Bullying
A warning if you have harm ocd: you’re in the main character’s head throughout the whole book and she gradually develops homicidal / violent thoughts, which she eventually acts on. These are described in detail in the last third of the book.rachelguthro's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
jackiepreston's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Through most of this book it was 4 stars for me, but the epilogue brought it down to a 3.5. Getting to follow another Jedi that felt dissatisfied with the order go through the Clone Wars and eventually fall to the dark side was interesting, especially when she was actually an inquisitor. The end of the final chapter felt like the culmination of everything that came before and was so tragic, and the epilogue felt like an unnecessary addition to the end.
Spoiler
The Iskat in the epilogue felt like such a different character from the Iskat we've been following the entire book. The relationship with Tualon was so underdeveloped that it bringing about the death of both characters felt out of nowhere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Abandonment, and Bullying
morgangd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Excellent Star Wars fare - Delilah S. Dawson lives her developing reputation "for writing violent women". If it's ever been unclear how easy, how seductive, the fall to the Dark Side could be, meet this square peg who just cannot fit into the Jedi's round hole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, Death, Ableism, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, War, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
loyed5's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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
5.0
This book is awesome, so much interesting insight into the life of an Inquisitor and their unique fall to the dark side. My only complaint is that I would have loved more details about her adventures after becoming an inquisitor.
Fully recommend
Fully recommend
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Suicide
shell_bell's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide, and Death
carter1315's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide and Violence
Minor: Gore, Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
eikcam's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Suicide
writteninthestarwars's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Many thanks to Del Rey UK for sending me a copy for review!
Rise of the Red Blade is a heartbreaking exploration of what it means to follow a path you're convinced you're destined for, no matter the cost to yourself or to those around you. Through Iskat, Delilah S. Dawson tells the story of a girl who has always felt like she doesn't belong, like she isn't enough for the life she's been given. Throughout the Clone Wars and after, she finds what she believes is her long-awaited acceptance in the embrace of the dark side.
Outside of The High Republic, this is the first Star Wars book recently published in a while that I've thoroughly enjoyed in almost every aspect. Thematically and story-wise, it hit all the right notes for me. Iskat is a deeply complicated and nuanced character whose devolution is painful to witness. Her experience of the Clone Wars is so vastly different from every other one we've seen thus far and really adds some perspective and nuance to that era. I enjoyed learning more about the Inquisitorious and the relationships between the so-called brothers and sisters.
Still, I did have a few hang-ups. There were some chracterisations I didn't entirely agree with, or that I felt went a bit far, and some storylines that didn't feel as fully developed or earned as I would have liked. I go into more spoiler detail below. Even with these, though, I appreciated how much this book made me really think. It's not often we get to read the perspective of a Clone Wars Jedi who thrives in chaos and pain rather than in peace. It definitely gave me a lot to think about.
This is a spoiler for a character that appears, but not for any events.
My other hang-up was the ending. Or, I guess, the the process to the ending.
Rise of the Red Blade is a heartbreaking exploration of what it means to follow a path you're convinced you're destined for, no matter the cost to yourself or to those around you. Through Iskat, Delilah S. Dawson tells the story of a girl who has always felt like she doesn't belong, like she isn't enough for the life she's been given. Throughout the Clone Wars and after, she finds what she believes is her long-awaited acceptance in the embrace of the dark side.
Outside of The High Republic, this is the first Star Wars book recently published in a while that I've thoroughly enjoyed in almost every aspect. Thematically and story-wise, it hit all the right notes for me. Iskat is a deeply complicated and nuanced character whose devolution is painful to witness. Her experience of the Clone Wars is so vastly different from every other one we've seen thus far and really adds some perspective and nuance to that era. I enjoyed learning more about the Inquisitorious and the relationships between the so-called brothers and sisters.
Still, I did have a few hang-ups. There were some chracterisations I didn't entirely agree with, or that I felt went a bit far, and some storylines that didn't feel as fully developed or earned as I would have liked. I go into more spoiler detail below. Even with these, though, I appreciated how much this book made me really think. It's not often we get to read the perspective of a Clone Wars Jedi who thrives in chaos and pain rather than in peace. It definitely gave me a lot to think about.
This is a spoiler for a character that appears, but not for any events.
Spoiler
First is with the characterization of Mace Windu. I understand that Iskat needs to have difficult relationships with the Order and, therefore, the Jedi Masters. It would not be natural for her character to like Mace. But there were moments with him where I didn't quite believe the animosity was coming just from Iskat, but maybe from the author, too. I fully admit that this could, in turn, be my own bias for Mace speaking. I have become quite protective of his character over the past couple of years after seeing how awfully people in the fandom discuss him when it comes to characters like Anakin and Ahsoka. How much blame they put on him for Anakin's own choices, Ahsoka's own words. I can't help but feel like further characterisation of him like that in canon material, without anything else available to balance it in the other direction, only adds fuel to the fire. Maybe I would feel differently if we had canon books that explored his character fully. Regardless, I can't help that I didn't feel comfortable with some of the dialogue, especially when considering how matters were handled differently when it came to, say, Yoda or Ki Adi Mundi.My other hang-up was the ending. Or, I guess, the the process to the ending.
Spoiler
I enjoyed Tualon and Iskat's relationship, but I didn't want to just hear about it. Some deeper exploration into their feelings and how they combated or were influenced by the dark side might have helped the entire story feel more full-circle and emotional for me. What do I have to do to get Star Wars to let me have some romance even if it's dark ...
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide