Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

City of Thieves by David Benioff

16 reviews

buer's review

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

2.0

Aside from the fact that Benioff is incapable of writing a female character who isn't leered at (which was a huge turnoff for me: this is not a book that welcomes readers who aren't horny boys/men), I initially thought this was a really lovely story. Its structure is elegant, it has a satisfying arc and conclusion, and it is peppered with visceral moments. Many of the events are absurd, but - especially when prefaced with the old "truth is stranger than fiction" adage - they are believable.

Of course a military leader would spare two condemned men's lives in exchange for a personal favor, of course that same leader hedged his bets and wound up with an unfair surplus of extravagant food while his countrymen starved around him, of course friendly fire kills one of our leads. Of course of course of course.

I did a little digging after reading and realized that the forward - which explicitly says that the book is based on actual events - is fiction. I have always loved stories that play with the line between truth and fiction. I am a strong believer that fictional stories can sometimes do a better job of getting at the truth of a historical event than a recitation of facts. But this preface strikes me as dishonest. It uses the "truth is stranger than fiction" adage as its excuse to tell an oftentimes unbelievable fictional story. 

My TLDNR is this: Making a horny war story is a weird fucking choice. Especially when it's not grounded in the truth you promise your readers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Trafficking and Antisemitism

Minor: Rape

m_a_j's review

adventurous challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, and War

Moderate: Antisemitism

Minor: Rape

ppotomova's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Cannibalism

Minor: Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Torture, Pedophilia, Genocide, Death of parent, and Animal death

gailbird's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Death, War, Cannibalism, and Animal death

Moderate: Antisemitism, Classism, Cursing, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Homophobia, Gore, and Sexual content

Minor: Excrement, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Xenophobia

morag's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Antisemitism

lady_elle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Excrement, War, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

chupacobbruh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, War, Gun violence, Child death, and Antisemitism

seethinglloron's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

Tense, harsh, and heartbreaking; funny, reflective, and sharp as a whip.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Antisemitism

booksandmo's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Religious bigotry, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cannibalism, Gore, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Child death, Sexual content, Genocide, Animal cruelty, Grief, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

xhelat's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

• 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, and War

Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Animal death, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Death