Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Apt Pupil by Stephen King

9 reviews

gaeliloveweiss's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Racism, Alcoholism, Gore, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Rape, Physical abuse, Genocide, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Hate crime

sommarborne's review

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

This book is deeply disturbing and not for the weak stomached. I think the reason this book hits so hard is due to its realism. This book is about the dangerous pipeline to nazism that can occur when someone becomes a little too interested in WWII.

But I think now more than ever this book is a critical read. This shows the inner workings of a kid who starts off innocuous and his descent into extreme bigotry and how kids can be groomed into horrific ideologies. It is a short, quick read and it is the kind of thing you won’t put down until you are done. There is no relief or happy endings here. It is just one fucked up short story. Read at your own risk.

As a caution, there is vivid animal cruelty and death with a cat that is vile to read. There is an equally disturbing sexual assault sequence in a dream.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Sexism, War, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Police brutality, Animal death, Torture, Terminal illness, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

coffils1's review

challenging dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, War, Genocide, Sexual violence, Body horror, Rape, Antisemitism, Blood, Torture, Hate crime, Violence, Gore, and Sexual assault

mariahlynn123's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, Torture, Racism, Gore, Antisemitism, Animal death, War, Suicide, Racial slurs, Murder, Hate crime, and Gun violence

reemoony's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

dont read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Confinement, Islamophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia

errie's review

dark

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reread for me - this was the first horror book I ever read as a teenager and it stuck with me for years, particularly a certain scene involving a cat. This is quite possibly one of the most disturbing and unsettling reads I’ve ever read, it left me feeling sick to my stomach nearly all the way through. I’m not much of a Stephen King fan, but this is so well written that I could not stop reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Rape, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Body horror, Racial slurs, and Suicide

nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Body horror, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, and War

waterwraiths's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Torture, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: War

kawooreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This novella was originally part of the book Different Seasons by King but Libby offers it as a standalone audio. I recall seeing the movie starring Brad Renfro and Ian McKellen over twenty years ago but have never read the story. The book is far creepier and sadistic than the film, and King excels at writing psychopathic inner dialogue and capturing how people descend into chaos. That being said, this may be one of those rare moments that the film is better than the book. Once again I think it comes down to my feelings about King's writing style and the choices he makes. I also felt the big finale ending was rushed and abrupt, considering how many pages King dedicated to the two main characters bickering and being moody toward each other.  I recommend it if you want to be creeped out by a teenager's macabre curiosity in addition to an old German Nazi concentration camp interrogator describing the atrocities he committed in his life. This kind of tale is not for everyone, but if you enjoy a dark story you should give this one a shot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Violence