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cheye13's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is precisely what you would expect it to be. It's a gross, gory romp; long enough to get all the graphic details, too short to have an impact. Perfect for horror movie fans.
I very likely would've gotten more out of it had I seen more classic horror movies ...but I don't like horror movies. I'm still feeling out horror literature, but I'd lump this in with films. In fact, I think it'd make a better film. The story gains nothing from being a book, and the visuals sometimes trip over vocabulary. There's no character insight or plot development that we can't get through visuals or dialogue. When a character is angry or scared or injured, we don't feel it with them – we just see what it looks like. There's the story on the page and nothing more.
It's written quite well. The gross scenes are revolting, the tense scenes are breathtaking, the death scenes are upsetting. The saving grace for my reading was the romance sideplot. It's not gaudy or overwritten or shoehorned, and offers a safe landing place amid constant tension. I'm always frustrated when characters have to face hard things completely alone, and the romance angle provided a nice vehicle/tool for the overall character arc.
There's nothing wrong with this book. It is exactly what it claims to be.
I very likely would've gotten more out of it had I seen more classic horror movies ...but I don't like horror movies. I'm still feeling out horror literature, but I'd lump this in with films. In fact, I think it'd make a better film. The story gains nothing from being a book, and the visuals sometimes trip over vocabulary. There's no character insight or plot development that we can't get through visuals or dialogue. When a character is angry or scared or injured, we don't feel it with them – we just see what it looks like. There's the story on the page and nothing more.
It's written quite well. The gross scenes are revolting, the tense scenes are breathtaking, the death scenes are upsetting. The saving grace for my reading was the romance sideplot. It's not gaudy or overwritten or shoehorned, and offers a safe landing place amid constant tension. I'm always frustrated when characters have to face hard things completely alone, and the romance angle provided a nice vehicle/tool for the overall character arc.
There's nothing wrong with this book. It is exactly what it claims to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Bullying, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Gore, Fatphobia, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Ableism
Minor: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, and Sexual assault
the fatphobia is aggressive, thorough, and offensive. Mentally ill characters are included with intention, but executed poorly. The sexual harassment (groping) is on-page, and the more explicit assault instances are references to the past. General warning for Catholicism – the main character has a very positive experience with the church, but the story does begin to approach the common systemic issues, including but not limited to misogyny, abortion, and conspiracy.
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