Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

16 reviews

_kathill's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, and Classism

peachani's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I only wish that the

comeuppance

deaths were more gory and protracted. It's what they deserved... Hmm. Maybe I relate to

Moremi

more than I initially thought. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Trafficking, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual content, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Body horror, Car accident, and Death

Moderate: Trafficking, Cannibalism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Rape, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Deportation, Kidnapping, Vomit, Child death, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Cancer, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Transphobia

poisoned_icecream's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Car accident, and Gore

Moderate: Pregnancy, Incest, and Miscarriage

pm_me_book_recs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

 I almost didn't finish this one, the beginning is a bit of a grind. I also had a tough time with the extensive and weirdly timed internal monologues that really info-dumped the reader.

I did like the setting, concept, and progression of story and conspiracy- but the characters were a little flat or relied too much on the plot for development? Some decisions felt forcibly poor, like I feel no one with a concept of cause and effect would make the choices that happened in this story. Once the plot picked up, it was a wild ride and action packed, and as I said, full of conspiracy and also incorporated Botswanan mythology/pantheon. There are very lengthy interruptions of internal monologue, however, that at times had me struggling to remember what was even happening before it started.

Like a combination of Altered Carbon, Handmaid's Tale, and The Truman Show. Major commentary on bodily autonomy and misogyny, class privilege, but much of it got lost in the action.

I listened to this ALC via Libro.fm and thought Cristel Mutombo did a great job, her voice is dynamic and it was easy to differentiate between characters, she is super emotive!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Sexual content, Classism, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Rape, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Gun violence and Transphobia

careinthelibrary's review

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.5

The last third was hard to follow but I was reading on a plane so I'm pretty sure that's the cause. Such cool worldbuilding and complex characters. Really compelling and interesting plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Drug use, Alcohol, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Body horror, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

'Womb City' by Tlotlo Tsamaase is a deeply reflective sci-fi book that delves into systems of power in a future Botswana. 
Nelah lives in a world where people's consciousness can be transferred into new bodies, allowing for far longer lifespans. She has been moved into a new body but one that is carefully monitored thanks to the microchip embedded within it. Despite this, she is successful, married, and looking to start a family. But more is brewing under the surface. She seeks pleasure outside of marriage and on a night out with the man she is having an affair with, a terrible accident occurs. Reeling from the events of that night, Nelah begins to see the ghost of the woman they wronged. Fleeing from what happened, she starts to unravel the truth of her city and what lies beneath. 
Tsamaase has created a cast of deeply flawed characters that aren't always the easiest to root for. Despite this, the futuristic world and the mysteries that surround it kept me engaged throughout. This is a fascinating and terrifying society, as you learn more about it. Tsamaase touches on a number of subjects from pregnancy and criminality to misogyny and autonomy. There are so many aspects to this book that it can be overwhelming at times. I think the author may have tried to cram a bit too much in (in themes and in plot points) but overall, I was engaged and interested to see what happens. I believe this is a debut and I cannot wait to see what this author does next. Their world building and themes are fascinating and I'm interested to see how this is developed further in future works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Body horror, Misogyny, Car accident, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexism, Death, Murder, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity

Moderate: Rape

planet_taffy's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Womb City is a heavy book that handles gender politics and crimes against women in a deeply intersectional way. I was continually impressed with the new layers Tsamaase brought to the issue leaving no stone unturned in xer dissection of male privilege and the way it's used to enact violence on everyone else.

It terms of the sci-fi elements, Tsamaase's future Botswana is also full of layers from artificial immortality through "body-hopping" to the many tools of surveillance and control giving us the dynamic of second class citizens through "microchipped people". Xe is pretty good about explaining new technologies each time they come up so that, by the time they're super important to the plot, you're quite familiar with them.

All in all it's a rewarding read, even if the verbiage is a bit hard to get through on the first pass. Nothing in the book is a throwaway, making the ending one of the most satisfying I've read. My only complaint is that I wish less scenes had taken place in the car.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Misogyny, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Sexism, Death of parent, Violence, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Miscarriage, and Child death

Minor: Kidnapping and Pregnancy

These are pulled from the frontmatter of the book. Sensitive topics are used with purpose, but there is quite a bit of gore & body horror.

gurpreetlally's review

dark reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity and Misogyny

shay43geek's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Death, Body horror, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Gaslighting, Gore, and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual content, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence

marxeism's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

An interesting story and exploration into feminist, queer, and class issues. Fast exciting parts interspersed with stagnant over expository sections that disrupted flow. Worth a read but could have been more polished

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, Child abuse, Murder, Car accident, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Gore, Self harm, and Miscarriage