Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

17 reviews

jill_holly's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I have way too many thoughts about this book!

It's noted as the "grandaddy of sci-fi" and I can completely see that. I saw the beginnings of alien/monster invasion stories, dystopian worlds, and even nature/weird plant horror, which was unexpected. 

What also struck me is how graphic it was. Considering it was written in 1898, I didn't expect it to go into the detail it did in some descriptions. I also noticed that while many things have changed in society, some things simply haven't. The arrogance of humanity that another species could conquer us, the reactions from panic to organization to religious fervour, and how some people think it won't impact them. In 1898 it was because info didn't move fast enough, but now, it might be the dearth of info and misinfo that harms us. 

Note there's some casual sexism, but considering the time period, I expected worse. 

Glad I finally read this classic, I'm sure it'll pop into my head as I continue to read horror and sci-fi!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Gore

pedanther's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Genocide, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bones_jackson's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Se eu não me engano foi o primeiro livro que retratou sobre alienígenas, então tem uns conceitos muito interessantes. A primeira coisa que veio na minha cabeça com a primeira descrição dos marcianos foi o vilão de monstros vs alienígenas e foi assim que eu imaginei eles durante o livro todo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

bearystarry's review against another edition

dark sad slow-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

2.0

This felt very… meandering? Feels like 80% of the book was just descriptions of people running away and/or travelling to other places and how starving or mean or “silly” they are. Pretty sexist and racist; making reference to indigenous american people when talking about violent invading aliens was certainly A Choice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

lorraine19's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

The pace kinda goes back and forth between fast and slow paced, but the imagery and descriptions in some of the scenes is really good. You have to keep in mind how old this book is when reading some of the more "scientific" parts. Wells did try to incorporate some actual science explanations which unfortunately are a bit outdated. So if that is something that really bothers you this book might not be for you. But if you don't mind more fiction in your scifi, it's a classic for a reason. 



<SPOILERS> I did find the ending to be disappointing but this is more of a personal preference. It just felt like it didn't match the tone of the rest of the book with it being all "oh everything turned out okay". I really wish he kept the tone dark or even left it more open ended. <SPOILERS>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Police brutality

Starvation, survival, cannibalism

allyjshand's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A pioneering and forward-thinking novel which stands the test of time. Having studied the children’s version in school, I was keen to read this in full and it did not disappoint.

“They have become practically mere brains, wearing different bodies according to their needs just as men wear suits of clothes and take a bicycle in a hurry or an umbrella in the wet.”

“I was no longer a master, but an animal among the animals, under the Martian heel”

“This isn't a war," said the artilleryman. "It never was a war, any more than there's war between man and ants.”

“He had swept it out of existence, as it seemed, without any provocation, as a boy might crush an ant hill, in the mere wantonness of power.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

nerdkitten's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

eatingfiction's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

 

"Since the night of my return from Leatherhead I had not prayed. I had uttered prayers, fetish prayers, had prayed as heathens mutter charms when I was in extremity; but now I prayed indeed, pleading steadfast and sanely, face to face with the darkness of God. Strange night! Strangest in this, that so soon as dawn had come, I, who had talked with God, crept out of the house like a rat leaving its hiding place -- a creature scarcely larger, an inferior animal, a thing that for any passing whim of our masters might be hunted and killed. Perhaps they also prayed confidently to God. Surely, if we have learned nothing else, this war has taught us pity -- pity for those witless souls that suffer our dominion."

Fantastic story, tense through and through. The invading Martians bring pure terror with them, to the city of London and its inhabitants, and to the reader -- the detailed descriptions of the ghastly creatures bring them to life, viscerally.
A great book, one I can see myself returning to again and again. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Gore

typedtruths's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and War

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gore, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism and Sexism

➸ Trigger warnings for period-typical sexism and ableism, dead bodies, alcohol consumption, presumed death of a wife, death of a friend, gun violence, whipping, near-drowning incident, stampede, building collapse, boating accident, military violence and battle scenes, and animal death (off-page, horse).