Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Different Seasons by Stephen King

15 reviews

colene's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Incredible read! This is the first book I picked up solely because of the author, and it did not disappoint.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is an easy 5 ⭐ The plot is compelling, much more so its characters.

5 ⭐ as well to Apt Pupil. It was so intense that I had to put the book down for a day. Yet, I couldn’t stop reading because I genuinely had no idea how it would end. The story could have gone in several different directions, and by the end, I was left in awe, thinking about how Stephen King is indeed a master of horror.

The Body was lighter compared to the first two novellas. It was the first time this book made me laugh, though it didn’t lose any of its tension or dark undertones. 4 ⭐ 

I loved The Breathing Method, but it felt too short, to be honest. The stories the narrator didn’t share left me frustrated, and the ending made me crave for more details and a continuation that's why I'm giving it a 4.5 ⭐

This collection has quickly become one of my favorites, and I can already see a reread in my future.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, War, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Shawshank Redemption is set in a prison and addresses sensitive topics, including sexual assault and rape within the jail environment. Apt Pupil delves into themes of Nazism and war crimes, and also touches on murder, gun violence, and suicide. The Body follows four boys on a journey to find a deceased child's body. The Breathing Method concludes with a harrowing tale of a woman meeting a gruesome death

danhinderliter's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Antisemitism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mass/school shootings

sappypatheticm's review against another edition

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide

em_chata's review against another edition

Left off at the beginning of The Body. I needed a break. 😅

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia

kit_kat006's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Took this book on my friend book shelve and did not realize it was THIS book. I did not read the back and to honest I choose it based on the relativly small size. 

This did not disappoint! On page 1 I realized a was reading a movie I had watch at least 5 times before. 

The book is even better than the movie and is worth it! Read it in two setting in one day and loved it! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

sareena's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail

laurendart's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty

americattt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense

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

2.5

"Even if I'd known the right thing to say, I probably couldn't have said it. Speech destroys the functions of love, I think that's a hell of a thing for a writer to say, I guess, but I believe it to be true. If you speak to tell a deer you mean it no harm, it glides away with a single flip of its tail. The word is the harm. Love isn't what asshole poets like McKuen want you to think it is. Love has teeth; they bite; the wounds never close. No word, no combination of words, can close those lovebites. It's the other way around, that's the joke. If those wounds dry up, the words die with them. Take it from me. I've made my life from the words, and I know that is so."

favorite short story: the Body

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, and Rape

Minor: Homophobia

thecatsmum'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

4.0

If you're new to Stephen King, and you ask for recommendations on what to start with, this is likely going to be one of the first you're given. 

I'm not going to tell you that this collection of four novellas are bad or should be avoided. Two are excellent, one is pretty good, and one is awful. They are all graphic and disturbing. 

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body are great and have been adapted into what are now classic films. The novellas are much more explicit than the films, so check the content warnings. The Breathing Method is a classic gothic feeling King tale. The less said about Apt Pupil the better.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

cate_with_a_c's review against another edition

3.0

Not really impressed by this set of Novellas but the Body had some good parts to it. 
My main critique is that in Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, the way Andy is revealed to be Black is really bad. The story itself is 113 pages and on page 100 Red (who is white Irish guy) says Andy was a good n word. 
I’ve read a lot of King and he is not afraid to use slurs especially for certain time periods when it’s more accepted but wow it looks like he really just wanted to use it right before the story wrapped up. It added nothing to the novella. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs

Moderate: Death, Rape, and Violence