Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Terror by Dan Simmons

17 reviews

casparquarius's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

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

marina_michelle's review

The descriptions of every woman’s breasts and pubic hair was already a red flag. Platypus Pond was just too much…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

amy14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

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

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.

black_october's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

What a horrifying take on one of the most chilling and mysterious doomed voyages in history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

elvenpanther's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

After finishing this novel I spent a few days trying to decide what I wanted to say about it. I enjoyed it immensely. Dan Simmons wrote it in such a detailed way that it was easy to paint a mental picture and lose yourself in the story as well as the setting. It probably helped that for a good chunk of this novel, I myself, was sitting in a blizzard (though with many more snacks, tea, warm blankets, and cats). I took my time with this one, I wanted to savor every moment with it. The pace of the book is slow, I tend to like novels that take their time and fill every moment with a wealth of detail. I know that not everyone shares this fondness, and that's fine. To each their own.
While I did enjoy the meandering pace and high detail, I'll admit that when it came  to some of the authors more technical descriptions of the naval structures and ships I may have zoned out a bit. I didn't feel that it took away from the story at all, I appreciated it, it's just not a topic I am super familiar with.
The cast of characters, while mainly being men of the British Navy, was still diverse in their personalities, backgrounds, and beliefs. There where characters I truly liked, that handled the circumstance  of their situation with grace, such as Lieutenant John Irving and Ice Master Thomas Blanky. Given the nature of what had befallen the crew of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, not every character could be expected to handle themselves with dignity and poise. Dan Simmons did a good job of showing both sides of the coin when it came to men's dispositions when faced with a very bleak and dangerous, life threatening event. Their were characters that I despised because their nature was so abhorrent. You would find yourself rooting for the survival of some while hoping karma caught up to others.
Crozier was a very interesting, but troubled character. It felt that his life had been spent in a struggle between who he truly was and who he tried to shape himself into as a member of the Royal British Navy. He was accomplished, but seemed looked down upon by others in his rank. He was bitter, and I couldn't blame him for it. Despite his demons he showed a loyalty to his crew that was very admirable. I feel like the ending was appropriate for him. While the last couple chapters did deviate from the style of the rest of the novel, I liked that they brought some understanding to what it was that hunted the men on the ice and why. I enjoyed that it delved into native lore and gave the novel that slightly fantastical twist.
There is so much I could say about this novel and I could go on for quite a while. I had rented a copy from my library, but the day after I finished it, I ordered a copy to keep on my shelf. I expect that this is one of those novels that I will revisit at another time or flip through when the mood strikes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, and Alcohol