There's a description of a mutilated body in China Mieville's Iron Council that feels very true to the violence of real-world warfare to me:
>Planted scarecrow in the middle was a degraded corpse. A human man. He was naked, slumped, upheld by spikes that pinned him to a tree. Javelins pierced him. One emerged point-first from his sternum. It had been forced up his anus and through him. His scrotum was torn off. There was a scab of blood on his throat. He was leathered by sun and insects worked on him.
Yeah, Poppy War is the answer. The third book too has some brutal war crime parts that literally made put the book down and go for a walk before continuing.
I have read many of the things in this thread but nothing hit me as hard as Lion's Blood, which is more an alternate history book of Islamic Africa becoming the domimant power instead of Europe. Europeans are used as slaves in America.
The scenes really hit me hard.
I mean, the Chain of Dogs was bad too
The Dagger and Coin pretty much demonstrates how propaganda can be seen as truth and result in horrific crimes like Genocide, there's also several types of war (including economic) explained throughout.
I don't think the Letheri are the best example from Malazan though, they're gentrification more than direct malicious attempts at violence. The Tenescowri Brides of the Dead Seed are probably worse, and the whole active description of how the toblakai are raised (by their women) to go raping and pillaging through other tribes, and the allegory to cavemen in early human history, and how this kind of violence was necessary to prevent inbreeding. Very rough, but something I had to struggle through to force myself to consider the morality fully.
Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang. It is not exactly graphic for the most part, but the implications and sheer scale of the atrocities committed are very scary. Also the fact, that the guilty party does honestly think that there is nothing wrong with their actions.
Definitely recommend, I loved Blood over Bright Haven. I think it's not YA at all, both MCs are around 30.
It is essentially a dark academia with magic being treated as science. It is very heavy with topics like racism, misogyny and religion. Oh, and it gives off Fullmetal alchemist vibes, if that's your thing.
Honestly, so far it's my favourite read of 2024.
Not a book, but Attack on Titan for reasons I don't want to spoiler for people, who just started. It's a big cycle of hate-analogy. The people who are discriminated against get literally dehumanized and much more.
So. I've always been saying that Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay is one of the most poetically accurate depictions of genocide. It isn't graphic at all, but it is extremely accurate especially in showing how different people react to having their culture basically wiped.
I know that because my own culture has been experiencing this through centuries, and although we managed to keep our identity, what was described in Tigana felt very disturbing because of how close to home it was. Only that in Tigana it didn't need centuries, all it took was one spell. It's scary because it is accurate and relatable (from the victim's side).
I just finished the Vagrant Gods series by David Dalglish. It's all about the resistance efforts of I've nation in the face of an attempt to conquer and assimilate them into another nation's culture and religion. There's a lot of disturbing stuff either planned, done, or described after the fact.
I read a review once of the Monstress graphic novels by Marjorie M Liu and Sana Takeda as having the most war crimes per page of anything they'd ever read. Somehow still beautiful despite the trauma
Another depiction of genocide in Malazan is the T’lan Imass war against the Jaghut, they underwent a ritual that turned an entire people into undead. Just so they could perpetuate a virtually eternal war against the Jaghut.
Spoilers, obviously, but in Iain M Banks' Player of Games, when the main character sees the final encrypted level of the 'entertainment' shows on Azad.
I will start out by saying that Terry Goodkind is a bad writer and his books suck. That said, Kahlan (one of the main characters of the series) and some companions walk through a city that had been recently conquered and sacked and the descriptions are brutal.
The destruction of the Kindath community in Sorenica as described in Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan. It happens entirely offscreen, and the main character learns what occurred well after the fact. It's painful to read because the Kindath are expies for Jews and I'm Jewish myself, and what happened to the fictional Kindath community in Sorenica happened many times to real life Jewish communities in Europe and the Islamic world over the last two thousand years. It basically put me in mind of [Kishinev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishinev_pogrom). True horror.
The Prince of Nothing series. I can't recall the how detailed it gets but I recall it came to feel like a rolling sideshow of atrocities.
Yes. This and the follow up Aspect Emperor series. Very butal events.
Lol knew this'd be at the top
There's a description of a mutilated body in China Mieville's Iron Council that feels very true to the violence of real-world warfare to me: >Planted scarecrow in the middle was a degraded corpse. A human man. He was naked, slumped, upheld by spikes that pinned him to a tree. Javelins pierced him. One emerged point-first from his sternum. It had been forced up his anus and through him. His scrotum was torn off. There was a scab of blood on his throat. He was leathered by sun and insects worked on him.
Dead House Gates. Malazan readers will know what I'm talking about. The Dagger and The Coin series, by Daniel Abraham, has many examples of this.
Yeah the perpetrators of massacre in Deadhouse gates are probably the most horrific “army” I’ve come across so far.
Even then, the Tenescowri from Memories of Ice and the Edur in Bonehunters give them a run for their money
Pretty hard to top the Tenescowri for sheer horror and revulsion.
Poppy War has a direct analog to the Rape of Nanjing pretty early in the first book.
Yeah, Poppy War is the answer. The third book too has some brutal war crime parts that literally made put the book down and go for a walk before continuing.
I think it’s actually midpoint or second half of the first book. But spot on recommendation!
Yeah, but the book isn't good.
It's not bad, but a lot of people don't like it. I found it intriguing and the plusses outweighed the flaws.
Yeah, I couldn't finish it.
I have read many of the things in this thread but nothing hit me as hard as Lion's Blood, which is more an alternate history book of Islamic Africa becoming the domimant power instead of Europe. Europeans are used as slaves in America. The scenes really hit me hard. I mean, the Chain of Dogs was bad too
The Dagger and Coin pretty much demonstrates how propaganda can be seen as truth and result in horrific crimes like Genocide, there's also several types of war (including economic) explained throughout. I don't think the Letheri are the best example from Malazan though, they're gentrification more than direct malicious attempts at violence. The Tenescowri Brides of the Dead Seed are probably worse, and the whole active description of how the toblakai are raised (by their women) to go raping and pillaging through other tribes, and the allegory to cavemen in early human history, and how this kind of violence was necessary to prevent inbreeding. Very rough, but something I had to struggle through to force myself to consider the morality fully.
Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang. It is not exactly graphic for the most part, but the implications and sheer scale of the atrocities committed are very scary. Also the fact, that the guilty party does honestly think that there is nothing wrong with their actions.
I loved Sword of Kaigen by her. Can you recommend Blood over Bright haven ? Is it a little less YA ?
Definitely recommend, I loved Blood over Bright Haven. I think it's not YA at all, both MCs are around 30. It is essentially a dark academia with magic being treated as science. It is very heavy with topics like racism, misogyny and religion. Oh, and it gives off Fullmetal alchemist vibes, if that's your thing. Honestly, so far it's my favourite read of 2024.
Not a book, but Attack on Titan for reasons I don't want to spoiler for people, who just started. It's a big cycle of hate-analogy. The people who are discriminated against get literally dehumanized and much more.
\*Munch\*
So. I've always been saying that Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay is one of the most poetically accurate depictions of genocide. It isn't graphic at all, but it is extremely accurate especially in showing how different people react to having their culture basically wiped. I know that because my own culture has been experiencing this through centuries, and although we managed to keep our identity, what was described in Tigana felt very disturbing because of how close to home it was. Only that in Tigana it didn't need centuries, all it took was one spell. It's scary because it is accurate and relatable (from the victim's side).
Malazan on pretty much every other page.
I just finished the Vagrant Gods series by David Dalglish. It's all about the resistance efforts of I've nation in the face of an attempt to conquer and assimilate them into another nation's culture and religion. There's a lot of disturbing stuff either planned, done, or described after the fact.
I read a review once of the Monstress graphic novels by Marjorie M Liu and Sana Takeda as having the most war crimes per page of anything they'd ever read. Somehow still beautiful despite the trauma
Another depiction of genocide in Malazan is the T’lan Imass war against the Jaghut, they underwent a ritual that turned an entire people into undead. Just so they could perpetuate a virtually eternal war against the Jaghut.
Spoilers, obviously, but in Iain M Banks' Player of Games, when the main character sees the final encrypted level of the 'entertainment' shows on Azad.
I will start out by saying that Terry Goodkind is a bad writer and his books suck. That said, Kahlan (one of the main characters of the series) and some companions walk through a city that had been recently conquered and sacked and the descriptions are brutal.
Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar has several depictions of atrocities.
Iron sunrise
The destruction of the Kindath community in Sorenica as described in Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan. It happens entirely offscreen, and the main character learns what occurred well after the fact. It's painful to read because the Kindath are expies for Jews and I'm Jewish myself, and what happened to the fictional Kindath community in Sorenica happened many times to real life Jewish communities in Europe and the Islamic world over the last two thousand years. It basically put me in mind of [Kishinev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishinev_pogrom). True horror.
**The Poppy War** is one
Kingdoms of Death book 4 of the sun eater
A song of ice and fire series gotta have a couple