Reviews with content warning for Racism - Fireheart Tiger

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

8 reviews

tinyjude's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I really liked the writing style, the concept and the world presented, however it felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped, mostly with regards to the romance. I feel like with maybe 50 pages more it would have worked for me better, as the characters and relationships felt too surface-level for me to care. Still, a very enjoyable read of filial obedience and defiance, toxic love, manipulation, political intrigues and emotional strength.

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a2_rache11's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

3.5⭐
I wish the author would have gone into a bit more detail with Giang, but a beautiful story.

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words_and_coffee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective 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

2.75

Not a bad book, but I found it forgettable

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readerette's review

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I had to let my thoughts percolate a while for this one before reviewing. I wanted to like it. It had promise, but I'm just not sure it ever came through. I did find the romance elements sweet. The magic/fantasy elements and world weren't very detailed, but they were still interesting. However, the character development stopped short of giving me enough to care about them, and the story meandered to nowhere. It is a novella so it makes sense that it wouldn't go too deep, but I love good short stories because they have to be focused on the most important people, moments and details in order to suck you in. This did not measure up, got a little redundant in places (not good when the author only uses so many words to tell the story) and felt unresolved.

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f18's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

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polychromatic_hedgehog_parable's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

2.75

gay.

queer abusive relationships! neat!
some logical/timeline issues with the plot
ugh, I really wanted Eldris to be revealed as the dirtbag she is, but Giang's offense was kind of lukewarm. DESTROY HER.
Giang <> Thanh relationship underdeveloped

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perditorian's review

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emotional hopeful 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

3.0

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ghosthermione's review

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5.0

It feels like everyone's been buzzing about this one and they were right!
I've been in love with the cover ever since I first saw it, I loved the concept and not gonna lie, the idea that there are (almost) no men in this book is a nice change.

So anyway, I gave it a read once it came out and... How do I word this. I just??? fucking love it???

This was a short read, about 2h (I'm a slow reader), but lots of content to enjoy and feelings to unpack. I've read Aliette de Bodard's stuff before and there's no doubt she's great at short stories, but so far I've enjoyed her medium-size writing more. Both the novella at the end of Of Wars etc. , In The Vanishers Palace and The Tea Master and the Detective. With a preference for her fantasy, so this was definitely one I was really looking forward to.

And it did not disappoint.

As advertised, there's only one man (a eunuch), in a minor role. It was really enjoyable to see a world of mainly women, both in positions of power and not, cruel and not. I also had a moment of "where are the fathers" before I remembered the only women thing, and it reminded me of how people often wonder "where are the mothers" in Shakespeare plays, because the dude often forgot to include women. It's a nice reversal.

It's been discussed in better words by others (and by the author herself) but this novella really goes into the themes of abuse and colonialism, and it was really striking. Thanh thinks she's found her way out of an abusive situation (with her mother) only to realise that maybe this is just walking into another more subtle abusive relationship. There was definitely a very realistic buildup in the way that abuse was portrayed (I don't want to give away too much here) and the colonial parallels rang very true. Viet Nam is the clear inspiration for Bình Hải, Thanh's country, and as a French person, it made me think about the fact that I know so little about the occupation of Viet Nam by France, and that's not something I'm proud of.

I don't know what to say about the relationships in the book without spoiling, but I'll just say it's good to see toxic sapphic relationships as well - ones where it's clear the sapphic aspect isn't the problem. And it offers sapphic alternatives too. Not just that, but the relationships made sense, Thanh's reactions made sense and were so relatable, I loved Giang (and loved to hate everyone but those two),and the pacing and flow in the whole novella was... honestly something a lot of writers could learn from.

I'm really impressed by how well-rounded the characters are, how complex the themes in so short a book. I want more but realistically it's perfect as it is and doesn't need anything added to it. Just, wow.

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