Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Passengers by John Marrs

34 reviews

mysticj's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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: Violence and Murder

elviolet's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia

ruthypoo2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

Oh, my goodness. John Marrs is so “balls to the wall” with this book. What a morbid sense of humor he sometimes has. LOL! This story is continually churning from beginning to end, always staying fresh because there are multiple narrators, but the many characters should not be daunting. The book has 70 chapters and each is easily digestible, allowing the reader to gradually get to know the different characters, something about their backgrounds, and eventually the shared terror in which they all find themselves participating. 

The story is complex and full of the realistic, though possibly a bit exaggerated in some cases, life situations that many people face. Throughout the story, the reader will feel a variety of emotions for each character as you learn about many, many gray areas that exist in their respective lives. But you can never feel you have the whole story because the author continually introduces revelations that can make you sympathize more and less and sometimes in between. Life is complicated and making assumptions about people without a clear picture of their experiences and motivations is a mistake.

This book has wonderfully contemporary themes, such as fear of burgeoning technology, crooked, greedy, and corrupt politics, old moral values versus personal rights, and the detestable fascination people have developed for reality entertainment, even when it celebrates the reprehensible human behavior. Taking all that into consideration, this was a highly entertaining book!

I listened to the audiobook and thought the cast of voice actors were excellent, giving each character in normal and dire circumstances a really fitting voice.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, and Alcohol

andreabey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy

charlottereads_books's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Pregnancy

mairi99's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The beginning chapters were slow but the pacing was good after that.  I enjoyed the suspense of the novel and liked this take on AI.  An interesting multilayered plot with well developed characters was enhanced by a full cast audiobook.  I enjoyed it but it was dark and some of the back stories were tough.  I'd reccommend checking the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

julienicole1106's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

shrayirene's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

 This was a very interesting read and I think the discussion in book club will be fascinating. The premise was very interesting and obviously well thought out and researched. I liked that the characters had many different layers to them, their motivations, and what the truth of their stories were, and by no means were those truths fully discovered by others (or we readers). It was a good reminder not to jump to conclusions and that everyone we meet has a life going on that we don't know about.

There were definitely some plot twists that I suspected or saw coming (which didn't detract from the story in my opinion), and then others were a complete surprise. Definitely a book that I will be recommending to others.

One thing I will warn you about is that while this is a standalone novel, there is a major spoiler for Marrs other book The One. I'm not sure if I will read it now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

juanat77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Blood, and Car accident

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail