Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Foe by Iain Reid

15 reviews

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • 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? No

3.0

This book was a fun idea but I unfortunately found it to be a bit predictable.

This book is about Junior and Hen, who are married and live on an isolated farm. A stranger shows up one day to tell Junior that he's been selected to be part of a program to go to space to help install a new settlement sort of situation. He didn't sign up for this. He will be having to leave his wife while he goes. But he's told his wife won't be alone while he's gone. Then it's basically a whole book of him being screened and prepared for this mission while trying to maintain his relationship. 

This book was almost really good but unfortunately not a lot actually happens in this book. I think the concept was good but I just wasn't quite feeling how the story played out. I think the end was satisfying enough, but it didn't pack the emotional punch I was hoping for.
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gerzonvillegas's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

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azureumbreon's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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scottsland_yard's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It was interesting, easier to follow than "I'm Thinking of Ending Things". It reads like a Black Mirror episode and was pretty engaging, finished it in 2 days. 
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samanthaleereads's review against another edition

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

3.5

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bethancy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow! Never read a book like this. I couldn't put it down but also wanted to launch it across the room. Fantastic writing too.
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keen's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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kellyisntcool's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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andrewhatesham's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25


"You can hold beliefs and not always believe in them."


Foe is a bit mid, I can see why some people were disappointed. With that being said, I did enjoy it. It's what some might call "quietly unsettling." This is NOT a horror or thriller, and it doesn't go into much detail with the sci-fi elements either, but if you read between the lines, that's where it gets interesting. I like the writing style, it's a quick read, and after looking up theories/explanations, I'm satisfied with the ending, which felt slightly anti-climactic at first. 

"No, I say. It’s the opposite. Beauty isn’t fleeting. Beauty is eternal. But . . . I’m not. I’m fleeting. That’s more the point."

I think this has great movie potential, which is kind of the whole reason why I read it. I'm really excited for the movie adaptation that's coming out on October 6th (2023). I'm a reader but I also love movies, and I know the book is almost always better than the adaptation, but I think there's potential for this movie to be an exception. If not better than the book, let's just hope that it's at least almost as good.

Around a year ago I both read and saw I'm Thinking of Ending Things, which was also written by Iain Reid. That book is much better than Foe in my opinion, and I thought the movie was really good too.
Different, but good in its own ways.

"Habitual, comfortable activity is the worst kind of prison, because the bars are concealed. You can never learn anything that way."
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brandiereadsbooks's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

2.5

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