Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Body Shocks by Ellen Datlow

5 reviews

xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Each and every one of these stories was beyond original and innovative. Some stories reminded me of Shirley Jackson's narrative voice (especially with It Was The Heat), Goosebumps and Jacqueline Wilson with the short story, Fabulous Beasts. This mix of authors is odd but it really does work. I also really appreciated the OCD representation in the story, Spores. I too suffer from contamination OCD and I saw myself in the MC and felt that it accurately portrayed the disorder. My favourites of this collection include Painlessness, Subsumption, Welcome to Mengele's, Natural Skin, The Look, Spores, Fabulous Beasts and Tissue Abulation and Variant Regeneration. Overall, I rate the collection a 4.5 stars. 

the travellers stay 4 stars
toother 4.25 stars
painlessness 4.5 stars
you go where it takes you 4.5 stars
A Positive 4.25 stars
La Beaut Sans vertu 4 stars
subsumption 4.75 stars
spar 4.25 stars
it was the heat 4.25 stars
the transfer 3 stars
Welcome to Mengele's 4.75 stars
black neurology 4 stars
cuckoo 4.25 stars
cinerous 4 stars
the truth that lies under skin and meat 4.5 stars
Natural Skin 4.75 stars
The Lake 4.5 stars
I'm always Here 4 stars
The Look 4.75 stars
The Old Women Who Were Skinned 4 stars
Spores 4.75 stars
Sweet Subtleties 4 stars
Elegy for Suicide 3.75 stars
Skin City 4.25 stars
A True Friend 4 stars
What I found In the Shed 4 stars
Fabulous Beasts 4.5 stars 
Tissue Abulation and variant regeneration: a case report 4.75 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cannibalism, Rape, Torture, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Murder, and Stalking

alphabetseeds's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

I have very mixed feelings about this collection, which has everything to do with me and nothing to do with the quality of the writing. Quality of the writing is very good. However, I discovered while reading that body horror, for the most part, is not for me.

I preferred the stories that had to do with unexpected transformation and general weirdness and disliked the stories that relied on sexual violence, revenge porn, and general shittiness of the main characters.

Highlights for me were the following stories:
- Painlessness by Kirstyn McDermott - a woman relocates and tries to befriend her next door neighbor, who has a troubling condition. I liked the unsure dynamic between them and the hesitancy of putting yourself out there after escaping from toxic relationships.
- Subsumption by Lucy Taylor - nature fights back after a cataclysmic event. Gave me 10 Cloverfield Lane vibes, but what happens after.
- The Lake by Tananarive Due - a teacher moves into a lakehouse in Florida and no one warns her about the dangers of swimming in the lake. I love stories where local superstitions end up being true, and everyone who lives there just holds on to this knowledge. 
- The Old Women who were Skinned by CArmen Maria Machado - creepy fairy tale about two sisters who live in solitude until one day, the king comes calling. It was weird and gruesome and just worked for me.
- Spores by Seanan McGuire - a bio lab tech with extreme OCD realizes that there's something seriously wrong with the mold on the peaches. Seriously, fungus is scary.

The whole point of bingo is to challenge yourself, and I sure did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

wall0w's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

Standouts for me were "The Truth That Lies Under Skin and Meat" by Cassandra Khaw, "Natural Skin" by Alyssa Wong, "The Look" by Christopher Fowler, and "Spores" by Seanan McGuire. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Medical content, Gore, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Rape, Animal death, Death of parent, and Confinement

cursivewolf's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I didn’t like all of them but the ones I did like, I loved. Such diverse kinds of body horror, some explicit and some creeping.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

owlribbon's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Body horror