Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Apt Pupil by Stephen King

20 reviews

errie's review against another edition

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

genevieveokeeffe's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction

czoltak's review

DNF at 38%
I literally never DNF books but I just can’t with this. The amount of animal abuse and antisemitism is just way too much for me. Mentally I cannot continue. I don’t care how it ends or if there is even a point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Antisemitism

czoltak's review against another edition

dark 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

DNF at 38%
I literally never DNF books but I just can’t with this. The amount of animal abuse and antisemitism is just way too much for me. Mentally I cannot continue. I don’t care how it ends or if there is even a point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Antisemitism

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

elisasifaa's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

0.5

Dnf at 43%

I was willing to give this book a fair shot, even after realizing what it is about since it is a Stephen King novel after all but I won’t tolerate animal abuse. 

What the hell is the deal with King and his abuse of cats, I think this is the third book I’ve read by him that has a descriptive cat abuse scene…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Genocide, Antisemitism, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault and Torture

pablollopez's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content

midnightspell's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

rachel_here's review

dark tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Genocide, Sexual content, Antisemitism, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism