Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Misery by Stephen King

311 reviews

nathan_ryan's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Sexual content, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

peppypenguin's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I can see why this is a classic. It’s an intense thriller that I had so much trouble putting down. The suspense in many scenes was incredibly painful, and I loved it. Paul's internal dialogue is great—it feels real, and it’s essential to understanding his actions as well as how the reader interprets what’s happening to him, bringing us closer to his pain. His understanding and terror of the situation make this book so good. 

Annie is an interesting character herself. King does a good job of describing her as a complete monster while also giving her an intelligence that Paul and the reader can’t help but respect. The build-up to discover more about her, and the descriptions of how she zones out into her psychotic states, add a lot to the suspense and horror. 

The pacing is perfect and while the setting is simple the goings on certainly are not. Even if it’s not a chapter moving the plot forward, each one is interesting, there’s never a lull. Strongly recommend it, though it’s not for the squeamish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction and Cursing

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

cardan_greenbriar_1's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

J'ai beaucoup aimé. Les personnages sont vraiment très bien écrits et très intéressants. Il y avait des moments où je trouvais que c'était long mais je comprends que c'est important, pour montrer à quel point l'enfer que vivait Paul était long. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcohol

happymi's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

imrg's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

sassyykassie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

yellowease's review against another edition

dark tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

caspian's review against another edition

challenging funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Torture and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Rape

buud_w0rm's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

josiah17's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Well, that was a ride. I honestly was not entirely captivated by the first third or so of this book. I was certainly intrigued, but not hooked and on the edge of my seat yet like I was kind of expecting. However, the remainder of the book does just that and I was hooked. This story quickly becomes amazing suspenseful, intense, and insane. King evokes all the right emotions and atmosphere with his writing to make this a truly compelling and chilling thrill-ride. And for the most part I did enjoy his prose, but there were some undertones that bothered me here and there. Either from King himself or simply because Paul Sheldon isn't the greatest guy either. Could've shortened the actual Misery novel portion after Part II as well.

But anyways, definitely an enjoyable introduction to Stephen King's works, and I will certainly read more from him in the future. Annie's one psychotic villain...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Torture, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs and Suicidal thoughts