Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The North Water by Ian McGuire

14 reviews

farmpaws's review against another edition

4.0

Beautifully written with vivid imagery and fascinating characters. McGuire transports you easily into the world of the story and all its vicious and brutal elements. The way he describes the scenery was particularly striking, perfectly capturing the distinct beauty and loneliness of the arctic. It was really interesting how he wove the three elements of the storyline (man vs man, man vs government, man vs nature) especially in a setting that is so isolated. 

This would’ve been higher starred but the author has the unfortunate belief that using  many slurs and extra-gross descriptions makes the story more grim and dark. Nothing would have changed had they been taken out and it was honestly more annoying than anything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, and Colonisation

grommit's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

3.5

Hectic, crass and violent. Excellent narrative arc

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Excrement, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

stepfarmer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

if i hadn't watched the show based upon this book, i might not have picked it up at all. that being said, it's an enjoyable short read, if a bit stomach-churning at parts. mcguire has a stunning ability to capture character voice, and i enjoyed how he explored the idea of man vs man and man as beast thru sumner and drax's characters. def recommend for anyone interested in lost-at-sea type of stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Racism, Violence, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War

brief scene of necrophilia

bonnienoire's review against another edition

The SA of the underage gay SWer's corpse while calling him a racial slur after murdering him was, shall we say, not quite what I was in the mood for.

I understand when there's a point to violence but this honestly felt egregious.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, and Murder

kendalsbookcase's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, and War

starsreside's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Excrement, Medical content, Murder, and Colonisation

bersblue's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation

lamorna's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-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

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Racism, and Outing

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

samster's review against another edition

I'm sorry, I found the graphic first chapter far too unpleasant. I'm not usually squeamish, this is the second book I remember finding this unpleasant (though for different reasons) & I forced myself to finish the last one, and regretted it. So, I'm stopping this one here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Content warning not on the list for necrophilia.