Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

A Anomalia by Hervé Le Tellier

24 reviews

maneatingbadger's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Best novel I've read in a while. First third is typical setup, the rest I could not put down. Audibly laughed and gasped at several points, often back-to-back. It really nails the the sense of foreboding and dawning realization of what's about to happen, and then exploring the consequences. Verisimilitude is spot-on, though as always I could do with a bit more worldbuilding, some more answers to all the structural questions raised. The metaphysical debates are a tad predictable but fun. I'm curious how recognizable the celebrity/VIP cameos will be in a few years. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Murder

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Terminal illness, Child abuse, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Cancer

bexxhenders's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder, Child abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Pregnancy and Cancer

danpeachey's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

imyril's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

A quick read that’s about as interesting as a cereal box - Le Tellier likes to experiment with form, but the result is dissatisfying when approached as the SF novel it is framed as, The Anomaly consisting of only a thin plot and flat characters. More of a concept or a thought experiment than a fully-fledged SFnal read. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Child abuse, Homophobia, Murder, and Terminal illness

eelfleece's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

I wanted to like this book, but it was missing something when it came down to the interwoven points of view. There wasn't enough exploration of the scifi aspects or what they meant for the world, and the constant flowery interjections got a bit much. 

Really interesting concept, worth reading, but wish it had been better. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Child abuse, and Murder

Minor: Terminal illness and Homophobia

nabecker13's review against another edition

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, and Body horror

kms80's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Very interesting sci-fi concept and engaging writing. Not sure I found the ending as satisfying as others did. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Terminal illness

Minor: Child abuse

kyrajg's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Violence and War

whimsy_and_rigor's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Torture

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Terminal illness, Pedophilia, and Torture

Although these issues are not “minor” they do not make up huge portions of the story. Truly, only a few sentences.

pershie13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.0

Oh boy, how to describe the book that I just read… The Anomaly is a genre-bending, multi-perspective, multi-timeline book that will leave you with more questions than answers. It all takes place over the course of a few months, and the satire, science fiction, and dystopia all wrapped up in one brings you to the end of the book in a hurry. It’s a book about empathy, yet also a book about some of the biggest horrors of life. There’s not much more I can write about The Anomaly without spoiling it, so I’d simply suggest reading it and interpreting it as you wish. You may need to search the internet for answers once you’re done, but this book will leave you thinking about life for a long time. Oh, and that last page is a journey, to say the least!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Murder, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Medical content, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Sexual content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Grief, and Religious bigotry