Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Terror by Dan Simmons

12 reviews

scrimbler's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

So hopeless and bleak that it put me in a minor depression for its whole length, which luckily wasn't very long because I couldn't stop reading it and finished all 800 pages within about a week

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Cannibalism

bookmunchr's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

The Terror was a beautiful and Grim book.
The writing is elegant and evocative, but somehow brutish and unflinching. 

I felt completely immersed in the tortured minds of the crew. If it wasn't the beast on the ice, danger lurked in the land itself, in the Food, in the wind, in the fog, even in the breast of their fellow mates. Where one obstacle was overcome, another rose in it's place. 

The pure unrelenting desolation feels like it will never end. Simmons had me feeling like I was a member of the crew, which is the highest compliment. But it is not easy to be a sailor aboard HMS Terror or Erebus. 

I highly reccommend this book to horror lovers. Read at your own risk 😁

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

anjalirenee's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

slow paced is an understatement please heed my warning. the pace picks up mmmmm around page 350 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). pretty good although TONS of unnecessary detail about the minutae of ice formations, ship layouts, and wayfinding. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Minor: Pedophilia and Pregnancy

perfectcupoftea's review against another edition

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia

waterlogged's review

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Very slow but never felt too slow.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

meminger's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

is the ending bullshit? yes. am i compelled by these scurvy-ridden bastards and their doomed arctic voyage? unfortunately also yes. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

sarah984's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

There are some great scares here, and some really well done character moments. Overall though, this book is too long (so many things are repeated unnecessarily), every woman is written really badly (but hey, at least

the author makes it clear that Big Tits survived!

) and the ending was terrible. I don't regret reading it but it's hard to recommend.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Incest, Excrement, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

coelagirl's review

dark emotional 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

4.25

Really really excellent book- especially the audiobook version, the prefromace Tom Sellwood gives is incredible. I'm not normally a horror enjoyer but the  multiple perspectives and historical subject matter got me. There were both scenes of incredible tension (carnivale, Blanky's escape, Franklin's  death, etc.) And knawwing knowledge that everyone would die and no matter how good any plan Crozier made was.   Very emotional. Would have been 5 stars if not for the ending- just stop reading at Hickey's final chapter; you won't get all the answers but we don't have all the answers for the real life Franklin expedition either! It's fine.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

The Real Life Franklin Expedition fictionalized in this book was Actually lost during its voyage in the late 1840s. This book contains the period typical misogyny and racism you might expect from victorian colonialism, as well as a book from 2007, plus men doing horrible things to survive in an inhospitable landscape they are not prepared for while being hunted by a creature behind imagination. Things get as bad you can possibly expect them to get.

black_october's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

What a horrifying take on one of the most chilling and mysterious doomed voyages in history.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

athryn's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

This was thoroughly enjoyable. I really enjoyed the historical detail, although of course more info came out after this book was written, so some stuff is a little inaccurate, but that's perfectly fine too.

Overall a great story with a lot of twists and turns. I actually felt cold reading this. It's sometimes a bit of a bummer, but also I love seeing hubris take people, especially colonial era Brits.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism