Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Terror by Dan Simmons

30 reviews

adrizeuza's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

2.25

This is probably my most disappointing read of the year. I had somewhat high expectations for this book, since I tend to enjoy slow paced novels and am obsessed with exploration disasters and The Terror tv series. The biggest saving grace of this audiobook was the narrator, if not for him I would have definitely DNF'd this 4 hours in. The middle 10h were a painful sludge. Around the 22h mark it finally began to pick up. I had to listen to this on 2x speed. I was expecting to feel the dread of the crew intensify as the book progressed, but the repetitiveness of the dialogues and of the descriptions completely ruined the tension building for me.
Whilst I was listening to this LONG audiobook, all I kept thinking about was how good the tv show was. How good the adaptation decisions were. And how ?? Dan Simmon's decisions in writing The Terror were in comparison. I lost count of how many times the question "... why?" popped into my head.
Geniunely cannot understand how nobody edited this down to a 400 page book. There was no reason for this to be so long. Crozier's POVs were extremely repetitive and not that interesting after a while, most other POV's did not do much to advance either the plot or our understanding of the ships' or characters' dynamis. So... why??? Even some scenes where there was supposed to be tension were completely dried out due to the dragged out descriptions the author made. Also, shout out to the cringiest sex scenes and sexual descriptions I have EVER read in my life.
Dan Simmons clearly knows how to write. And he researched the hell out of the Franklin Expedition. But my biggest grip with this book comes down to the choices he made. The reviews about women's poor treatment are real. I cannot stress enough about how poorly and superficially women are portrayed. Especially Lady Silence, and all Inuit women who show up, are so grossly objectified BY THE NARRATOR. Another choice I have a massive problem with is that with SUCH A LONG BOOK how is there not ONE POV of an Inuit character, namely Lady Silence who is one of the driving forces of the plot?? Don't even get me started on the end of her arc.

Why would she f*** and basically marry + have children with an old rude white coloniser riddled with diseases after 700 pages of not indicating that she gave a damn about him??

 
Anyway. I can't wait to rewatch the show!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Moderate: Cannibalism, Classism, Gore, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

inquietrotundas's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

What a horrifying take on one of the most chilling and mysterious doomed voyages in history.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Emotional abuse, Death, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Sexual content, Sexism, Mental illness, Infidelity, Gore, Cursing, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Body horror, Blood, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Cannibalism, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Homophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

zone_a3's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Medical content, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Gore

Moderate: Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Classism, and Racism

issyfrp99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

There were a lot more descriptions of boobs and erections than I was expecting…like, a lot.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gore, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Medical content

renegadegrocerycart's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Finishing this book was my own journey to find the Northwest Passage.

Genuinely one of the best books I’ve ever read, but I’d never recommend it to anyone because it’s objectively horrifying. I’ve had nightmares about botulism and cannibalism for weeks. This book will stay with me forever. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Addiction, Excrement, Gore, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, Homophobia, Racism, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Vomit, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Death

cbug412's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is off the chain. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Excrement, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Genocide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Colonisation, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, and Religious bigotry

amaranth101's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

rafirth42's review against another edition

I was very invested in the plot, but the sheer amount of racism, homophobia, and misogyn turn me off from finishing the book. Especially the sexualization and slut-shaming of Esquimaux women and girls. I understand having some of those elements present for the time period yhe book is set in and character development, but in the first 300 pages of the book there was virtually no character development and I decided I didn't want to deal with those elements for another 600 pages.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Homophobia

Moderate: Misogyny

athryn's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

This was thoroughly enjoyable. I really enjoyed the historical detail, although of course more info came out after this book was written, so some stuff is a little inaccurate, but that's perfectly fine too.

Overall a great story with a lot of twists and turns. I actually felt cold reading this. It's sometimes a bit of a bummer, but also I love seeing hubris take people, especially colonial era Brits.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Bullying, Cannibalism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, and Gun violence

nexadon's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I hope Dan Simmons never writes about indigenous people again, because he failed at every turn with their inclusion in this book. Disregarding that (if you can) The Terror is wonderfully gritty and foul, a great read for people who love it when men shit themselves to death.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Racism