Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear

3 reviews

shoshin's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.5

I enjoyed the book a great deal, liked its exploration of the nature of the self, and found some of what it did very intriguing (space whales that communicate through their barnacles!) but I thought it dragged in places and wanted parts of its universe to be better developed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Kidnapping, Self harm, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity

motherbeetle's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

So I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. The world building, the hard science, Haimey’s arc, and how it handles heavy concepts made it an easy 5/5. But the rest of the novel felt… empty. I didn’t feel like it really started until it was almost over. It was very slow even for me, an enjoyer of slow books. I enjoyed the end once there was something happening. I felt like some of the characters could have been explored more. I did find the book immensely entertaining outside of the times that dragged though. Still having really complicated feelings about it all haha! I would recommend it, especially if you’re someone who loves hard science in science fiction or if you’re someone who likes heavy concepts (free will, conditioning, moral issues) in your sci-fi. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood and Violence

CW Mind control

There are consistent themes of mind control, conditioning, and programming throughout the book. If you are someone who has a history of or PTSD related to any of those, approach with caution.

lethalballet's review

adventurous dark reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse