Military Violence & War Themes – Page 62

The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan

The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan

Bracing for a final clash with the evil warlord Morgarath, the Rangers rally the kingdom’s allies, and Will is chosen, along with his friend Horace, as special envoys to nearby Celtica. But the simple mission soon takes an unsettling turn – the Celticans have disappeared, their town abandoned. The scheming hand of Morgarath, it seems, has been far from idle. He has found a way to bring his legions over the once impassible eastern mountains and is planning to ambush the king’s army in a rout. Now with help many miles away, Will and Horace are the only ones standing in the way of the dark lord’s plans.They have shown great skill and courage in their training, but how will they fare in the face of true evil?

With bigger battles and higher stakes, John Flanagan’s epic adventure charges ahead with this rousing follow-up to The Ruins of Gorlan.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Disappearance of a loved one
Fire and arson
Grief and loss depiction
Hostage situation and kidnapping
Slavery
Knife violence
Mind control and possession
Physical injuries and wounds, murder and attempted murder
War and military themes

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

They have always scared him in the past — the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. What he doesn’t yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied….

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Verbal abuse
Burns, whipping and physical injuries
Death of a parent
Conscription
Knife violence, murder and attempted murder
Fire
Hunting
Bullying
War and military themes

Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton

Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton

In the ancient river kingdom, where touch is a battlefield and bodies the instruments of war, Mia Rose has pledged her life to hunting Gwyrach: women who can manipulate flesh, bones, breath, and blood. The same women who killed her mother without a single scratch.

But when Mia’s father announces an alliance with the royal family, she is forced to trade in her knives and trousers for a sumptuous silk gown. Determined to forge her own path forward, Mia plots a daring escape, but could never predict the greatest betrayal of all: her own body. Mia possesses the very magic she has sworn to destroy.

Now, as she untangles the secrets of her past, Mia must learn to trust her heart…even if it kills her.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Misogyny (central theme)
Homomisia, coming out themes and hate crimes
Rape (mostly recounted, one graphic on-page scene) and sexual assault
Forced non-consensual arranged marriage
Physical abuse
Suicide and suicidal ideation (mentioned)
Blood and gore depiction, including dead bodies
Grief and loss depiction
Death of mother & wife recounted
Death of a father & husband recounted
Emesis
Graphic physical injuries and illness
Torture (secondary character, off-page)
Murder & attempted murder
Poisoning
Imprisonment
War themes
Graphic animal death, animal bodies, and hunting
Mind control discussed

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Body shaming
Suicide attempt by self-sacrifice
Alcohol consumption
Blood and gore depiction, including dead bodies
Physical injuries
Emesis
Murder & attempted murder
Physical and psychological torture
Knife violence
Gun violence
Explosions & bombings
Physical assault
Kidnapping & captivity
Hostage situation
Airship accident
War themes
Animal death
Animal dead bodies & body parts
Hunting

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Classism
Ableist language
Fatmisia
Slavery (mentioned)
Kiss without consent
Blood and gore depiction, dead bodies and physical injuries
Death of a friend and parents (recounted)
Murder and attempted murder
Kidnapping, hostage situation and blackmail
War themes
Graphic animal death

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Classism
Victim blaming
Facial difference discrimination
Persecution for witchcraft (mentioned)
Rape and sexual assault (recounted)
Parental abandonment (implied)
Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Suicide attempt as self-sacrifice (recounted)
Alcohol consumption
Blood and gore depiction, dead bodies, eyeball trauma and branding
Physical sickness and scars
Death of a brother, son, girlfriend and friend (recounted)
Murder and attempted murder
Explosion, knife violence, physical assault and poisoning
Captivity, blackmail, hostage situation, exile and banishment
War themes
Animal death and bodies (recounted), hunting

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini

A short, powerful, illustrated book written by Khaled Hosseini in response to the current refugee crisis, Sea Prayer is composed in the form of a letter, from a father to his son, on the eve of their journey. Watching over his sleeping son, the father reflects on the dangerous sea-crossing that lies before them. It is also a vivid portrait of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city’s swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Islamophobia
Blood depiction
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a child
Explosions and bombings
Shipwreck
Drowning
War themes

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan’s last thirty years – from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding – that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives – the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness – are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Sexism
Arranged child marriage
Child and domestic abuse
Rape and sexual abuse
Suicide
Miscarriage & abortion
Mutilation
Cancer
War themes

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg & Chancellorsville—derailing the War and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism (theme), colourism & racial slurs
Sexism
Slavery
Child abuse recounted
Sexual assault
Forced use of medication
Blood & gore depiction
Death of a friend
Torture
Gun violence
War themes & military violence

Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao

Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao

In the Cyrilian Empire, Affinites are reviled. Their varied gifts to control the world around them are deemed unnatural–even dangerous. And Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, is one of the most terrifying Affinites.

Ana’s ability to control blood has long been kept secret, but when her father, the emperor, is murdered, she is the only suspect. Now, to save her own life, Ana must find her father’s killer. But the Cyrilia beyond the palace walls is one where corruption rules and a greater conspiracy is at work–one that threatens the very balance of Ana’s world.

There is only one person corrupt enough to help Ana get to the conspiracy’s core: Ramson Quicktongue. Ramson is a cunning crime lord with sinister plans–though he might have met his match in Ana. Because in this story, the princess might be the most dangerous player of all.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism & colourism
Human trafficking and indentured servitude
Child emotional & physical abuse
Parental abandonment
Attempted suicide
Terminal illness
Blood depiction
Murder
Torture, including water torture
Whipping
Royal coup