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aviery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Excrement, Vomit, and Death of parent
maddiebusick's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Excrement, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Vomit, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
daisymaytwizell's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
He also does a fantastic job of making you root for objectively unlikeable characters. A theme in this book is the terrible things mankind is capable of and why we might choose to do them, so there's a great deal of unsavoury characters present, but Turton recognizes who he can humanise and who is beyond that attention, which really pays off in the reading experience.
Also, the thing that really tied this incredible book together for me: Turton writes good sentences. The novel is good and careful and well-paced, but that attention reflects in every sentence throughout. Genuinely a phenomenal piece of work, and I'm excited to aggressively recommend it to everyone in my life who likes reading.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, and Blood
Minor: Animal death, Excrement, and Sexual harassment
None of the above is gratuitous; everything is included either because of its relation to the ship's evil or its contextual presence on a long-haul 1600s ship.taymariereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Murder
oliverlang's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
v171's review
- 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
5.0
I shouldn't be surprised that this was my first 2021 5 star read, but I'm just so blown away! I say it all the time, but I'm not big on murder mysteries, but this one really had everything, I don't know where to begin. The setting was so vivid and well developed. The atmosphere and culture of the world and setting was conveyed very naturally without blocks of exposition. The characters we were supposed to like were charming, and the characters we were supposed to hate were loathsome, but neither in a heavy handed way. I did find some of the dialogue to be a bit rushed and unnatural, but it was easy to look beyond. There were a few underlying themes around sexism and class disparity that were touched on in interesting ways. The author did a great job of painting a more... gritty? realistic?... picture of sailors than the oft romanticized versions we see today. This added to the danger and suspense for the female characters of the book, without using needless violence towards women as a tool for character development.
It goes without saying, but if you liked Evelyn Hardcastle, or if you like Agatha Christie-esque murder mysteries, you'll love this. I can't recommend it enough.
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Slavery
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, and Excrement
breezer's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Excrement
Minor: Genocide
erinjulia's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, and Excrement
Minor: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture
kathryn_changedbychrist's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Excrement, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault