howlinglibraries's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
There's no such thing as monsters, right? Right?
There are.
And they look like you and I.
I've been terrified of the idea of doppelgangers and body-snatchers since I was a little kid. I remember waking up in the mornings and being afraid to get out of bed and say hello to my parents because I was convinced that I would wake up one day and they would have been replaced with something else. I had nightmares about it for years! Needless to say, doppelganger horror hits me in a sweet spot and Them tackled the trope pretty well. I wish there had been more emphasis on the fear of not knowing if someone is really who they say they are or a mimic, but there is one scene (I won't tell you where) that hit the nail on the head and gave me full-blown goosebumps!
I can't review this without talking about the violence and gore, because wow, this book is depraved lol. I read a decent amount of extreme horror, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm hard to please because gratuitous violence rarely affects me, but this book had a couple of scenes that left me feeling sick to my stomach for a few hours afterward. DEFINITELY check my trigger warnings below if you think you'll need them! A lot of the novella's strengths lay in the fact that Mique Watson did a great job of making me care about the characters before harm came to them, which made it hit home a lot harder.
As far as downsides go, the writing could have used a little more editing, mostly in terms of continuity and dialogue (there are a few scenes with back-and-forth dialogue with nothing to break it up and no "she said", "so-and-so said", etc.; hard to explain in a review, but it made it tough to follow). I also wish there had been more of an explanation as to what was going on and how this all began. Honestly, Them could have been fleshed out into a full-length novel, no problem! All of that said, I had a really good time reading this (even if I spent a good bit of that time wrinkling my nose in disgust or cringing in sympathy) and I'm excited to read more of this author's work soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death of parent, Violence, Bullying, Cursing, Murder, Pedophilia, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Sexism, Sexual content, Animal death, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Abortion, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
lannajaide's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
mique has done an absolutely amazing job for his first horror novella. the movie Us with a less ambiguous, yet, disturbing ending.
muhreenah's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
A lot of darkness occurs in these pages, but I don't regret giving it a chance. Beautiful cover art drew me in and I was rewarded with a fantastic bonus story (unrelated) at the end. Would highly recommend, but also urge people to check their triggers.
bunnicula_'s review
Can I give a trigger warning for bad writing? Extreme horror is fine. I've read my share of splatterpunk over the years. However, there needs to be a purpose. A plot. Character motivation. And there is none of that. Extreme violence against women is not a plot. It's tired and lacks creativity or thought. The characters act against how they have been set up. The verb tenses change. Everybody is blonde, including the damn dog. It's boring and has no direction. I would give it zero stars if I could.
spiritsspookybooks's review
1.0
Genuinely felt like I found a super edgy 13 year old’s diary and he had just found out what rape was. Also, do y’all think these people had their entrails hanging out? It was unclear even after being mentioned every other page.
oktrouble1401213's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
snoopywg's review
4.0
This is extreme horror. And boy is it extreme and fucked up. It describes two of the most gruesome death's I've ever read. I only wish the fantastic premise would have been more in depth.
elisewashere's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
⚠️ **TRIGGER WARNING** rape, incest, forced abortion, pet death ⚠️
I was so excited to read this honestly. Hysteria is my favorite sub genre. However it was kinda devastating to find out this was Splatterpunk, which is not my vibe.
I know it said it was an extreme horror novella, but I was kind of just expecting a lot of gore and graphic description. I sped read the second half of this book because…
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
…The Samantha arc is just, not fucking it. It’s disgusting and shocking to solely be disgusting and shocking. It’s just fucked up graphic depiction of incest rape, forced abortion and mutilation of a fetus being taken out of a pregnant woman, raped and then ripped in half?
About half way through there’s another description of rape, murder and rape of a dead body as well so … reader beware, this book is entirely an assault of its female characters. And I can honestly say I’d never suggest this short story to anyone.
Just like honestly no one needed this, certainly no one was asking for it, and Frankly how did Mique even come up with this? Like I said I was really excited to read this, I loved the ‘they look like us, they’re killing our neighbors and our loved ones, they’re tricking us into thinking they’re someone they’re not’ but instead I got this heap of garbage. I’m just glad I got this for free on Amazon and I didn’t have to pay for it.
Did someone keep a tally of how many times the word ‘cunt’ was used during a rape scene?
I was so excited to read this honestly. Hysteria is my favorite sub genre. However it was kinda devastating to find out this was Splatterpunk, which is not my vibe.
I know it said it was an extreme horror novella, but I was kind of just expecting a lot of gore and graphic description. I sped read the second half of this book because…
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Spoiler
…The Samantha arc is just, not fucking it. It’s disgusting and shocking to solely be disgusting and shocking. It’s just fucked up graphic depiction of incest rape, forced abortion and mutilation of a fetus being taken out of a pregnant woman, raped and then ripped in half?
About half way through there’s another description of rape, murder and rape of a dead body as well so … reader beware, this book is entirely an assault of its female characters. And I can honestly say I’d never suggest this short story to anyone.
Just like honestly no one needed this, certainly no one was asking for it, and Frankly how did Mique even come up with this? Like I said I was really excited to read this, I loved the ‘they look like us, they’re killing our neighbors and our loved ones, they’re tricking us into thinking they’re someone they’re not’ but instead I got this heap of garbage. I’m just glad I got this for free on Amazon and I didn’t have to pay for it.
Did someone keep a tally of how many times the word ‘cunt’ was used during a rape scene?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Violence, Excrement, Gore, Incest, Rape, Torture, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, and Animal cruelty
This book has extreme descriptions of: rape, incest, rape of a dead body, pet death, forced abortion, fetus rapedeathcoregoblin's review
The amount of sexual violence in this book is overwhelming. Definitely check the TW on this one because it was a struggle to get through
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Abortion, Murder, Suicide attempt, Blood, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence
amberweirdo's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.0