Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

21 reviews

btaylorb's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I'm glad I listened to the audio edition, because I think I would have been frustrated by the choppy prose and disjointed narrative style. The narrator really succeeded at capturing the multi-layered emotional and tonal shifts that I think would have come across as removed and clinical from simply reading the text. Hearing his voice break at a certain inciting incident while reading had me choking up and reminiscing about my own experiences with that particular kind of grief.

There are some truly gorgeous descriptions of nature that serve well as contrast for the grittier, more violent scenes. However, the final section of the book features some sexual content that felt out of place, tonally speaking. I think the ecstatic feelings of the emotional and physical connection between the characters could have been better served with a more coy approach rather than something I would expect from a raunchy rom-com.

I think the synopses I saw of this book do not set up the correct expectations for what this book is;  i almost expected a cozy post-apocalyptic “Travels with Charley” situation, and while this book is definitely not cozy, it’s compelling and for the most part beautifully written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Sexual content

lolra's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death

cmbrown4's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Murder

brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Animal death

cyndakeel's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death and Blood

scipio_africanus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

Peter Heller clearly knows and loves nature and poetry. This book is pretty much a nature novel about fishing, hunting, and survival with brutal post-apocalyptic violence interspersed throughout. This book was so good that it could easily go into my top 10 favorite novels. 

Was surprised by all the bad reviews for this book. I just dont get it. People saying it's slow or boring. I wasn't bored once. There was plenty of violence,  even a good bit of quality humor, and I enjoyed the more peaceful sections of the story as well. I listened to the audiobook, which may have been a different experience to reading it. 

Can't recommend it enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Grief

arejaytay's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jessrad505's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Grief

hanjackson's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mtnest's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual content, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy