Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Ambergris: City of Saints and Madmen; Shriek: An Afterword; Finch by Jeff VanderMeer

3 reviews

mordproxy69's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Minor: Gore and Xenophobia

fungivibes's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, and Torture

Minor: Miscarriage

shewantsthediction's review

I read the first story, "Dradin in Love," and didn't like it. Early VanderMeer is unfortunately just too verbose, meandering, and unpalatable for me. The first Ambergris book, City of Saints and Madmen, was originally published in 2001, while Annihilation (my personal favorite) was published over a decade later, in 2014. It's clear that VanderMeer vastly improved in the interim, and while I understand all writers have to start somewhere, I'm just not interested in putting myself through this 900-page monstrosity.

Also unexpected is the dudebro-y quality of his early work. He said in an interview that his wife proofreads a lot of his stuff now and that's partially how he's able to write female characters so well. I believe it—not only because I was impressed by his ability to write so many women in Annihilation, but also because the timelines match up: according to Wikipedia, he married his wife in 2003. Bless!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gore, Mental illness, and Violence