Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Terror by Dan Simmons

15 reviews

wemilyebb's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Vomit

spinebreakr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

The Terror was a beautiful and Grim book.
The writing is elegant and evocative, but somehow brutish and unflinching. 

I felt completely immersed in the tortured minds of the crew. If it wasn't the beast on the ice, danger lurked in the land itself, in the Food, in the wind, in the fog, even in the breast of their fellow mates. Where one obstacle was overcome, another rose in it's place. 

The pure unrelenting desolation feels like it will never end. Simmons had me feeling like I was a member of the crew, which is the highest compliment. But it is not easy to be a sailor aboard HMS Terror or Erebus. 

I highly reccommend this book to horror lovers. Read at your own risk 😁

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

jamielikestoread's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

bugaboobear's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was a delightful descent into desperation and death for 95% of the way. 

And then chapter 62 happened and the author decided he was bored with that and changed the tone and subject entirely. 

This was maybe a 4.5 star read for me up until then, but then the ending was largely out of the blue and unsatisfying in my opinion. 

Also a few things to keep in mind: 
1. There are practically no women in the story (for obvious reasons). The women who are in the story are pretty one dimensional. 

2. There is a surprising amount of religious ideology (both Christian and Inuit). Also readings from the Bible. 

3. There is a heavy amount of racism in the beginning and less as the book goes on. It is all era appropriate and makes sense for the characters but can be uncomfortable to read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

perfectcupoftea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia

sarahgruenewald's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book may have been one of the most violent and depressing books I've ever read ... And written so well it stands above as a new favorite. Five stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Torture, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

btrz7's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, and Classism

keenanmaree's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

coelagirl's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.25

Really really excellent book- especially the audiobook version, the prefromace Tom Sellwood gives is incredible. I'm not normally a horror enjoyer but the  multiple perspectives and historical subject matter got me. There were both scenes of incredible tension (carnivale, Blanky's escape, Franklin's  death, etc.) And knawwing knowledge that everyone would die and no matter how good any plan Crozier made was.   Very emotional. Would have been 5 stars if not for the ending- just stop reading at Hickey's final chapter; you won't get all the answers but we don't have all the answers for the real life Franklin expedition either! It's fine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

The Real Life Franklin Expedition fictionalized in this book was Actually lost during its voyage in the late 1840s. This book contains the period typical misogyny and racism you might expect from victorian colonialism, as well as a book from 2007, plus men doing horrible things to survive in an inhospitable landscape they are not prepared for while being hunted by a creature behind imagination. Things get as bad you can possibly expect them to get.

renegadegrocerycart's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Finishing this book was my own journey to find the Northwest Passage.

Genuinely one of the best books I’ve ever read, but I’d never recommend it to anyone because it’s objectively horrifying. I’ve had nightmares about botulism and cannibalism for weeks. This book will stay with me forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail