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lady_valhella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Violence, Cannibalism, Confinement, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, and Self harm
kaiyakaiyo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hmm. I would by no means recommend this book to anyone I know BUT the first and last thirds of this book were fascinating. the middle… I could’ve done without it or her perspective; simultaneously deeply depraved yet extremely annoying at the same time.
i really like cosmic, unknown, uncanny horror and that’s exactly what this delivered on, if a bit more gorily than i would have liked.
poor nurse allegra, she was who i was really rooting for
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Colonisation, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cancer, Cannibalism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Dysphoria
sarah984's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Cancer, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Body horror, Gore, Pregnancy, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Colonisation, Death, Self harm, Blood, Confinement, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, and Racism
Minor: Abortion, Ableism, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Police brutality, Trafficking, Genocide, Child death, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Excrement
karalafleur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Gore, War, Torture, Cannibalism, Excrement, Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Medical content, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer and Infertility
Minor: Suicide attempt
l_will8889's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH! Like at all. Seriously. Check those content warnings and HEED THEM.
Graphic: Blood, Genocide, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Cancer, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Colonisation, Car accident, and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Infertility, Kidnapping, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Drug use, Dementia, Ableism, and Biphobia
greyxwaren's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. Despite the description, I wasn’t entirely sure what I would be getting into and there was not a single point in reading this book that I truly knew what was going to happen next, which made for a great read! However, I did have some qualms especially upon first starting the book, though I ultimately did end up really enjoying the read overall.
The start of the book had me rather hesitant. The dialogue felt rather stilted and unnatural, and I wasn’t sure about just how many Covid-19 references there were, especially for how often they were repeated. There’s definitely something to be said for writing pandemic novels post-pandemic and using our current sociological state as background context for pandemic horror fiction, but the references to Covid here were very repetitive and in-your-face until the action really picked up.
I also appreciated the book’s takes on things like corruption in the modern medical industry, the dangers and death tolls of capitalism, the dystopian nature of modern American society, (“Be a productive member of the economy or die; it’s the American way”), the government’s ineptitude and vast mishandling of pandemics in general, the medical and sociological discrimination against woman, even a slight nod towards racism and its perpetuation in subtle ways by white women, but it did feel like this novel wasn’t sure what statements it wanted to make and attempted to make all of them at once.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m of the mind that a gory horror pandemic novel is, funnily enough, a perfect setting to make some very relevant statements about modern American society, but it felt like this work wanted to make every single statement that it possibly could, and again, made the beginning read stilted and slow until the action picked up.
All of that being said, once you get past the first 50 or so pages, the fun really begins and all of those complaints are no longer relevant, because they really didn’t carry on beyond the initial introduction of the book, and despite those complaints, the exposition was still incredibly fast-paced and enthralling, and I definitely did read this one in, if not a single sitting (only because I had to set the book down to do my job, unfortunately), in the span of about 8 hours. The vibe changes rapidly from “pandemic novel” to “cosmic body horror” and dabbles a bit in science fiction/fantasy with strange and unearthly religious themes, and I was all about it.
This is also potentially one of the goriest books I’ve read lately, and I do tend to read a lot of cosmic/body horror, so beware of that! However, I really enjoyed these elements as they played out with the plot, and overall, just generally appreciated how striking and visceral the storytelling here was and how skillfully the author utilized uncanny genre elements to create a story I’m unlikely to forget any time soon. The author’s absolute talent in conveying desire, hunger, and lust in a horror setting, especially with queer characters in a way that isn’t often showcased with specifically lesbian or bi women, was amazing and perhaps one of my favorite elements.
My only other qualm with this book
Overall, though I wasn’t entirely sold on the beginning, I gleefully “what the fuck” -ed my way through this incredibly terrifying and warped read with no idea what I might experience next, which was half the enjoyment, and no idea what I was experiencing, which was the other half. The conclusion won’t leave you guessing for answers the way something like Annihilation might, but it doesn’t exactly tie everything up in a neat bow, either, and I appreciated the middle ground here. Much of this book not only relies on the reader’s ability suspend their disbelief, but nearly demands it with a driving narrative force.
If you’re looking for a twisted horror science-fiction/fantasy read with intense cosmic/body horror, queer characters, warped religious overtones, and a few monster elements thrown in for fun, you’ve come to the right place. I’m so glad I had a chance to read this as an ARC, so that I can recommend it to customers when they request something “deeply traumatizing in the best way,” which I think is the highest compliment I can pay this work!
Graphic: Gore, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Violence, Body horror, Medical trauma, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Vomit
Moderate: Gaslighting, Cancer, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Child death, Chronic illness, and Colonisation