Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

78 reviews

kurumipanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

I liked this. The caving parts were excellent: atmospheric, unsettling, terrifying. The dialog and relationship development were weaker - it seemed to develop too quickly/strongly with too little substance. Some story decisions felt inconsistent and illogical, and I wish the author had gone further with the sci-fi and cave ecology aspects. The audio narrator is great, though hearing the dialog aloud may have exacerbated some of my issues with it. Overall worth the read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

Minor: Body horror, Drug use, Vomit, and Gaslighting

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

This was sooo atmospheric and creepy!! I would not last 10 minutes in this situation let alone however long Gyre was down there. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Medical content, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

The Luminous Dead calls into question the reliability of its characters' perception and creates such a thick fog of paranoia and confusion that it remains tangible even after the end of the novel. Both characters are terrible people who are terrible to each other.

I don't really know that this was the case, but my interpretation of events is that the tunneler was using the likenesses of those who died in the tunnel's depths to lure victims to reveal themselves. However, Gyre's fever, the spores, and the general paranoia of her time in the tunnels makes it unprovable. Gyre feeling herself be dragged by the sporified corpse of Jenny reinforces that uncertainty of reality. Especially with the pull of the depths like the call of the void made manifest. Em is a terrible person. Sympathetic, but still terrible. She killed so many people in the search of corpses she wasn't sure would still be there, and ran when Gyre found them. They're so toxic for each other - Gyre holding the kill switch to Em's livelihood and future and Em having broken Gyre's body and mind. Not to mention Gyre's willingness to mutilate herself for the sake of getting a job for the money to get off planet and find the mother who abandoned her and whom she grows to hate, and Em's willingness to desecrate her mother's memory by sending caver after caver down into the depths that swallowed her parents, only to turn away and leave Gyer alone in the dark when her father's body is found. They're terrible people and terrible for each other, but in this sort of off world horror, you kind of have to root for them.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content

anracli's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The book is quite long and repetitive, much, I suppose, like a cave. It took a while for anything to really happen, and by the time that point came around, I didn't really care for either of the characters. The back and forth wasn't particularly enjoyable, and the ending wasn't particularly satisfying.

I almost certainly won't reread this book.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

rororow's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Could not put it down

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Vomit, and Medical content

brioches22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

spaghettii's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The ending was an interesting choice

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

itsjustgrumpy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.5

The name of the book and the cover made me think Zombies. No zombies. But it was a good sapphic sci-fi story. Probably could've been trimmed a little, to avoid some of the repetition found later in the book. It was an alright read, might not recommend it to those into actual horror.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Gore

royalraspberry's review against another edition

adventurous 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore and Vomit

wrenny03's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

Do not go into The Caves. The Caves are alive and malicious and they want you dead. This book fucks.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood

Minor: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail