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Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
Star Wars Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson
4 reviews
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.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. 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
ladyj95's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was an excellent book. Wow, it captures the feelings of falling to one's dark side and the chaos of the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars and its ultimate demise. The themes of feeling different were well put together, along with the lies of the deceptiveness of the Dark Side.
This book doesn't glorify the dark side but shows one's journey in a failing institution. It does not celebrate the MC's choices but makes them very understandable. It acknowledges that we all have darkness, and while it can give us great power, it is ultimately a cage.
This book doesn't glorify the dark side but shows one's journey in a failing institution. It does not celebrate the MC's choices but makes them very understandable. It acknowledges that we all have darkness, and while it can give us great power, it is ultimately a cage.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Suicide, Mental illness, Murder, and War
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