Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Fist of the Spider Woman: Tales of Fear and Queer Desire by Amber Dawn

4 reviews

evanlorant's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

definitely did not think that this would be as hardcore as it ended up being. and yes i did read a story about age play on public transit and i got a couple weird looks from the person sitting next to me. 
a fair few of these stories were excellent: amber dawn, suki lee, and kristin dunnion were highlights. but some of the others were real misses in my mind. but that’s how it often is with a short story collection.
not all of them fit the “horror” brief too well, either. for example, some stories relied on kink tropes like forced pleasure without developing any kind of stance on it as horror in its own right. it read more as a creepy erotica than a story about queer fear and desire. to me, the stories that were GREAT made it worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Blood, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Violence, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Death, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Torture

parasolcrafter's review

slow-paced

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

i wish i could give negative reviews. let me give this negative 5 stars!!!!!!!!!
had i known it was going to focus on badly written porn i simply would not have read it. genuinely what the fuck was any of this!!!!! there were maybe 2 stories in here that were bearable. good fucking lord. i wanted queer horror and got none of it; unless, of course, you count the writing as horrific.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Blood, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Transphobia, Death of parent, Rape, Torture, Drug use, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, and Sexual content

vvoman_of_darkness's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Violence

magicalghoul's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I didn't expect the stories in this anthology to be so dependent on sexual violence for their horror, so that was a letdown. Moreover, I feel they suffer for it.

There were some stories I enjoyed though, but the rest of them were more miss than hit for me.

Noteworthy stories (♢ liked; ❥ loved)

♢ Slug by Megan Milks
♢ Conspiracy of Fuckers by Nomy Lamm
❥ Homeland by Kristyn Dunnion
♢ Crabby by Michelle Tea
❥ Shark by Kestrel Barnes
♢ Fear of Dying to the Wrong Song by Amanda Lamarche

I'd be all over Here Lies the Last Lesbian Rental in East Vancouver by Amber Dawn if it weren't for the sexual assault. A shame, because the concept is really good and the execution was doing well up until that point.

Please mind the warnings if you intend to read this anthology, I wouldn't recommend it to someone who's had trauma related to any of the things listed.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Drug abuse

Mind the sexual violence warning, as well as dubious consent. The pedophilia and incest present in form of sexual play. Also warning for cissexism and dysphoria.