Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

51 reviews

vorticella's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

This my first real horror book and it was terrifying but I loved it and want more. That small town vibe with dark secrets delving into the supernatural was so gripping. I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

voicenextdoor's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

3.5 I feel like this really should have been a novella and then it would have been a 5 star read. Spending so much time in Louis’s head really didn’t serve the book. You could have cut a 1/3 of his inner monologue and had a much more compelling and terrifying story. It wasn’t until 75% that I was finally into what was happening. A disappointing reading experience because of all the hype surrounding the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Terminal illness

truckasaurusb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

bokslukaren's review against another edition

4.5

This story reminds me a bit of Edgar Allan Poe, with its mounting tension, psychology and morals, but the writing is strictly King and has the power to pull the reader in from the very beginning. With an ever-growing tension and false hope, Pet Sematary is a deeply disturbing book that made me feel anxious and upset. I was wrong to expect a childish story of the title and my underestimate bit me in the ass. In between reading sessions I could feel the malevolent pull of the book. If I compare Pet Sematary to the other books I've read by King I come to the conclusion that King suffers with writing his endings, but on the other hand how can you write a satisfactory ending to something so “gweat and tewwible”?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Gore

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

lecheeese's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A study in the hold grief can have on a person

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, and Gaslighting

shelf_devoted's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

"Maybe I did it because kids need to know that sometimes dead is better"- Jud

My first Stephen King read, deep dark slow burn of a horror book. I appreciated the way it often touched on death, grief and loss of a loved one. I loved the overall premise of this book and what it's trying to say but half way through I had to pick up an audio to help me get through this because it dragged. I got more suspense/thriller vibes until about 20% left of the book. I think this could've been 50-100 pages less and been a 4-5 star read. The audio was great but still the story was just unnecessarily too long. I am new to the horror genre don't typically read from this genre, 2/5 on the scare scale for me, more creepy spooky than anything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Murder

pholcidae's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Aside from the casual racism (using outdated terms for Native American people and unnecessarily bringing people’s skin colour to attention), a near-flawless book.

The story is paced perfectly and I have been reading it nonstop. The author’s use of language to create suspense and terror is reminiscent of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. 

This was my first King novel and I think it was the perfect one to start on! Very tense and lots of fun easter eggs in there :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and War

ee_comins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty

alixsbooktherapy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book had me needing therapy afterwards stephen king I'll see you at my next appointment, this book will have you questioning your decisions I now know why this known as his most frightening book I just wish it was more realistic like the cops would of showed up multiple times if this actually happened this book is not for the weak I buddy read this with Emily and holy I hope she's okay🤣

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

mickraine's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Vomit, and Murder

Minor: Incest and War