Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

5 reviews

mementomoriiv's review

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Violence

toastrats's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Chronic illness

grvhppr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

First off, I loved this piece. It’s my first VanderMeer work, and it couldn’t have been a better choice. 

Overall, the pace of the book felt pleasantly slow—especially during the early years with Borne. It gave the sense that we lived the childhood years of Borne alongside Rachel. That by the time

Borne must leave home the story could skip some time and the reader could feel the weariness of living the life of a scavenger on the run. The cute Borne days were long gone by this point.

 

This book questions what it means to be a person. We the reader must determine if this means to be human, to be ethical, to be flawed, to be alive, etc. The question is vast and wraps the story like a blanket.

Can Borne still be a person if he’s a murderer? Can Rachel?

On the surface the tech was fun.

Memory beetles, alcohol minnows, fire-breathing venomous bears, cloaking garb, and more. Having their survival based around scavenging biotechnology added a wonderful sci-fi element to the story.

 

Thinking back, this story feels sadder than how I felt during the listen. The bond between the trio is unique and how it unfolds while could predicted with some thought doesn’t take away from the sense of loss. Not necessarily in lives but in just… life. Borne, the book, is full of destruction—ceaseless. The characters are all made of strong stuff to be able to function in a world such as ‘The City’. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

missizzy's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Medical content, and Grief

readingrainbot's review

adventurous challenging dark inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Violence, and Grief