singalana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Minor: Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship
emmathebookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Animal death, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Blood, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
loustat__'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship
phillyhufflepunk's review against another edition
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Classism, Pedophilia, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Colonisation, Confinement, and Gore
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness
nerdkitten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Kidnapping, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, and Gore
Moderate: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Animal death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Classism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Self harm, Medical content, Sexism, Sexual content, Addiction, Dementia, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and Excrement
moreau's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Pedophilia, Abandonment, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Blood, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Animal death
gabriella_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.0
The yearning is so strong in this book. There are moments where Louis’ sorrow is so tangible it has a physicality. It drapes over the narrative of prose of the book like a curtain.
Spoiler
“I didn’t know I thought these things. I spoke them now as my thoughts. And they were my most profound feelings taking a shape they could never have taken had I not spoken them, had I not thought them out this way in conversation with another. I thought myself then possessed of a passive mind, in a sense. I mean that my mind could only pull itself together, formulate thought out of the muddle of longing and pain, when it was touched by another mind; fertilized by it; deeply excited by that other mind and driven to form conclusions. I felt now the rarest, most acute alleviation of loneliness. I could easily visualize and suffer the moment years before in another country, [. . .] and then that passionate and doomed affection for Claudia which made loneliness retreat behind the soft indulgence of the senses, the same senses that longed for the kill. [. . .] And it was as if the great feminine longing of my mind were being awakened again to be satisfied. And this I felt despite my own words: ‘But it’s that dark, that empty. And it is without consolation.’”The entire time I felt like I was seeing through Louis’ eyes and was keenly aware of
Spoiler
Lestat’s watchful gaze“But Louis, this is the very spirit of your age. Don’t you see that? Everyone else feels as you feel. Your fall from grace and faith has been the fall of a century.”
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Blood, Grief, Medical content, Abandonment, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Animal death, Bullying, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Rape, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
jasminawithab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
claudia my beloved
Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Racism, Animal death, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Classism, Slavery, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Misogyny
kalira's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Slavery, Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
thesawyerbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The story unfurls before us, laced with treachery, eroticism, death, love and a lot of blood; paced with twists, turns and climaxes; and underpinned with a nuanced discussion on existence and the concept of good and evil.
What made me not enjoy it as much as I could’ve was the lack of connection with the protagonist. I know fundamentally he is supposed to be evil as a murderous vampire, but I think in reading vampire fiction we suspend the vilification of this inhumanity as one both expected and understood. However, the seeming obsession in contemporary vampire fiction of making important characters have involvement in the slave trade/confederacy is so off-putting and honestly needless. In addition, his relationship with Claudia (although a grey area considering her actual temporal age), was very strange and gave off similar vibes to that in Lolita. Overall my empathy with Louis was extremely stunted from the get-go which made the rest of the story quite the slog.
That was a shame indeed, as the writing is incredible - vivid, atmospheric and poetic. If my gripes with the characterisation were non existent I’d be tempted to give it 5 stars just for that. As an important part of the vampire canon I’d say this was worth the read, especially for spooky month.
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence