Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

13 reviews

poirot'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? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts

CW speciesism, CW vivisection

dustspectre's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

1.0

This is one of those books that would be far better if it were a) longer and b) rewritten for the modern day. As it stands, the book is far too short, suffers a lot from telling rather than showing (especially for the final few chapters), and the science really doesn't hold up. Not to mention the casual racism for most of the book.

The concept is certainly very interesting, however, hence the extra star. Again, if a book was published today with a similar premise/message I'd probably eat it right up. 

(I will also give Wells credit for making a main character that actually has flaws rather than going the route of so many other 19/20th century authors and making their MC have every skill and scrap of knowledge on Earth. It's actually impressive how little Prendick knows/how few skills he actually has)

Edit: on further reflection, dropping from 2 to 1 stars due to just how lackluster the last few chapters were. The content in those chapters (

Spoiler

the reversion of Moreau's creations to becoming animals, and Prendick's realisation that humanity was the monster

) was far too short and should've taken up the majority of the book rather than just the final ending chapters. The telling rather than showing aspect of Wells' writing also becomes painful here. Once again, this could be so much better if remade for the modern day, featuring better science and writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Racism

liamlaurence's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Mental illness, Gore, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood

tungstenmouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This book did not age well at all. Some of the attitudes presented are appalling by today’s standards. It’s also brutal and very dark. If you are very attached to animals you may have a very hard time with this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Gore, Blood, Cursing, Death, Alcoholism, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Torture, and Racism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Ableism

kstericker's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Racism

Minor: Cannibalism and Fire/Fire injury

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, and Ableism

strabbyfieldz's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

0.5

This book had some really evocative images and ideas, but you can find these ideas in a book that is significantly less socially darwinistic / flat out racist and ableist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror

Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Religious bigotry

tking250's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism and Suicidal thoughts

jbabbm's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book was better than I expected, and it's an easy to read classic. Wells decided to use the Island and its Beast Folk as a literary device to tackle various moral topics. I truly consider this a must read.

Also, this is classified as a children's book apparently but I honestly wouldn't read it to children below the age of 10 at least. It's not scary or gory, but I do think that it deals with complicated subjects that may prove too heavy/upsetting for a kid.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

robynsimpson's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, Torture, Murder, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, and Gun violence