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mar's reviews
358 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Death, Gore, Vomit, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Pedophilia
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
on one hand this is an outstanding case of sci-fi as social critique. the biting commentary on the tourism industry, colonialism and capitalism - the very clear allegory to the treatment of Cuba and other third-world countries by the West - is really strong, honest and unflinching. still, its brutality and obsceneness make for a difficult and disturbing read; a lot of it is clearly a purposeful choice, yes, but there were still times when it felt gratuitous, and others when i found it hard to tell just how much of the unpleasant shitty parts was by design and how much might've been the author's prejudices bleeding through.
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Suicide, and Trafficking
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and War
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Did not finish book. Stopped at 48%.
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It's a bit slow to start and probably a bit too long, but it nonetheless had me hooked till the very end; the worldbuilding is fascinating, hinting at much more to come, the plot engaging, well-paced and full of fun twists and turns (though Lukan's exceptional luck does ocassionally lean towards glaringly obvious plot armour). Lukan is pretty generic as fantasy protags go, but not offensively so, and Flea - the street urchin turned Lukan's guide/sidekick/friend - is a highlight among the supporting characters, bound to become a reader-favourite. Their dynamic is deeply endearing. I do have some criticisms - kinda sucks that the only fat character in the story is a stereotype, for example - but I definitely want to see where it all goes from here.
Overall, yeah, it doesn't really bring anything new to the genre, but it sure is FUN, so [shrugs] I really can't wait to get my hands on the sequel, especially with the great setup at the end of this book 🫶
(Thanks to Quercus Audio and Netgalley for the ARC!)
Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Body horror, Fatphobia, and Gore
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, and Infidelity
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury