Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

21 reviews

sassmistress's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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

4.25

Very much not my usual speed, but I see why it's genre-defining. It must be a *really* early take on zombie apocalypse literature. It's a solid mix of psychological horror and zombie thriller, with a dash of that classic sci-fi introspection. Extremely gripping, at points, like The Walking Dead (sorry to relate it to something newer!) Choc-full of content concerns, though, so I can't rate it any higher. But I really enjoyed the read and want one for my classics shelf. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

- Very graphic depiction of alcoholism and heavy alcohol use, from the mind of the user. We're constantly watching strong drinks spill, smell, burn going down, numb emotion, etc.
- POV is regularly on the verge of a mental breakdown.
- Memories of his wife wasting away and dying, then having to dispose of her body. The grief is graphic. His child dies, too, though this is less prominent.
- Dog content:

He feeds the feral/traumatized dog and slowly befriends it. During this process, the dog is infected. He brings the dog inside, hoping to cure it before it passes, and it panics extensively. He calms it down, the dog licks him, he cries, and then says the dog died a week later.

- He is an atheist, but prays twice out of desperation. Religion is otherwise depicted as frenzied madness.
- Lots of lustful gaze and objectification. This is viewed as the inevitable result of a man's "deprivation" / isolation. One passionate embrace/kiss.
- Blood, obviously, and some violent "vampire" deaths, but most of it is kept at a moderate emotional distance. Most deaths are the MC bleeding out the sleeping "vampires", not described too graphically, but a few are more violent.
- Brief mention of rape, and a few suicidal thoughts.

paralanguage's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Minor: Rape

oddreads_nicolestins's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War

bookwormteacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal death

Minor: Sexual assault

singalana's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

3.0

Elokuvaversiosta poiketen tässä post apokalyptisessä novellissa zombien sijasta temmeltävätkin vampyyrit. Robert Neville on maailman viimeinen ihminen - kaikki muut ovat jo ajat sitten muuttuneet vertaimeviksi hirviöiksi. Päivisin Neville etsii ja tappaa vampyyrejä, täydentää varastojaan ja vahvistaa puolustuksiaan. Öisin häntä piinaavat ulkona odottelevat vampyyrit. 

Robert Neville kipuilee yksinäisyytensä kanssa, juo liikaa ja vihansa vimmassa käyttäytyy aggressiivisesti. Ymmärrettävästi hän ei juuri nyt ole ihan parhaimmillaan. Kirjan alussa hänen suurin ongelmansa tuntuu olevan seksin puute, mikä nykylukijalla saattaa nostattaa hieman kulmakarvoja. Tätä lukuunottamatta kirja on kestänyt suhteellisen hyvin aikaa. 

Lopussa kirjassa on hyvin toteutettu kohtaus, jossa Neville todistaa verivihollisensa kohtaloa. Loppuratkaisu onnistuu ehkä hieman yllättävälläkin tavalla kääntämään kirjan asetelmaa. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit

scytheria's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism and Gun violence

Minor: Animal death, Rape, and Suicide

mconroy9137's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Kidnapping, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Vomit, and Medical content

rogackia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lydiavsbooks's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Definitely enjoyed it. It had Walking Dead vibes but if it was written by Stephen King.

 Didn't so much enjoy the weird descriptions of our main character lusting over (un)dead women. Otherwise I enjoyed our main character and following his pov, he was a very complex believable character that made you root for him, but also scared of what he might do.

The ending was pretty great, really interesting way to pick up the plot and keep you on your toes. I can definitely see why people love this, just good fun all round.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, and Vomit