A review by madzie
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

The amazing magic system and cool, in-depth writing about healing and the body really makes this book come to life. Unfortunately, while the worldbuilding was good, I wanted a better understanding of it. I enjoyed how it wasn't shoved down the reader's throat at the expense of the story, but I still felt like I wanted more context. At times, it even left me feeling a little lost and confused. The characters were solid, very dynamic, and had great and engaging relationships with each other, and I loved the unashamed queerness! However, I wanted to know more about the characters to feel a connection to them (perhaps a fallout of the length). Additionally, the writing is excellent and straightforward while still being descriptive and capturing the reader's imagination.

The plot was structured pretty basically but used effectively, and the shortness of the book seemed to be used more to its advantage than other short books I've read. The ending was very predictable, but the "villain's" motivation was interesting, so I wasn't too upset for guessing what was happening early. The themes are so pertinent to our time and explore disease, class, and poverty very well. While Jamina makes an inquisitive look into how humans have treated, taken over, and killed one another for generations, I feel like the book could have benefited from more exploration into how horrifying, unquestionably wrong, and detrimental genocide, prejudice, forced assimilation, and loss of culture are.
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