Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Leech by Hiron Ennes

5 reviews

bazer63's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The book started off very strong but towards the end because confusing and hard to keep track of, though that maybe have been intentional.

I found the lead way more compelling when they still under the control of a parasite than when they were themselves again. And their relationship with Emile to be kindof boring.

The worldbuilding was compelling, I like the slight amorality, or orange and blue morality of the parasite especially.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria

uncreativeoops's review

The worldbuilding was fascinating, but I just couldn't deal with the characters making one stupid choice after another. Some of them were also comically evil or unbelievably cliché.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

dannilmp's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.75

For a debut novel by Ennes, I was very impressed at the writing! How can one author make me feel so much compassion for a parasite compared to the human race? This book gave me The Haunting on Hill House vibes at time. Isolated from the rest of the world in a chateux, our doctor has to figure out what is trying to compete against his kind completely on his own. Can he figure it out in time while the chateux crumbles around him?

The setting of this novel really added to the atmosphere, while this book does have its many many scences involving blood and gore, it is the ambience that really shines through. The characters seem to grow and devlop as we learn some of their more darker secrets of their pasts. Again I am blown away that here I was feeling so much sympathy and even rooting for the parasites of Inultus over the humans at one point!

However, I feel the ending wasn't quite as upto par with the rest of the story and the ending left me feeling quite unsatisfied. I don't think the last question in the blurb is answered and given the information we get throughout the story, it's not quite simple to come up with your own conclusions as they really are just wild speculation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment

catwhisperer's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

This book takes a bunch of gothic tropes (the opulent but crumbling manor haunted by past atrocities, the ailing patriarch grasping for control with his son and daughter-in-law squashed under his thumb, an outsider drawn into a terrible world they don't understand), drops them into a post apocalyptic future, and fills them to the brim with worms. I am not squeamish with descriptions usually but this one made me squirm a few times!

I really enjoyed this book's themes of identity and autonomy, and the use of language to denote the state of the main character is fantastic, however I dropped a star because I felt the ending was kind of weak and I don't like tropes that involve a race of people being genetically predisposed to certain knowledge and this winds up doing that a bit. Overall though, if you want something original and you've got a strong stomach I would heartily recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Cannibalism

Parasite/bug/worm content Mind control Graphic birth scene