Scan barcode
robotnik's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I've seen The Hunger mentioned a lot in horror cycles so I was excited to finally read it, but it was pretty disappointing.
The historical events of the Donner Party are equal parts horrific and tragic, and there was so much to work with for a tale about it and yet I feel this book honestly missed the mark. It went for the very stereotypical "oooo evil supernatural curse" route to explain away the cannibalism that happened instead of just going with the desperation of people trying to survive in dire circumstances that would have made a far more interesting story.
Most of the horror was honestly non-existent that I feel awkward even calling it a horror. The focus of the story was 75% on the melodrama between caravan members. Every single person here seems to be an asshole, and we got more about how people are cheating on each other and who's wanting to sleep with who and this guy is a creep who peeps on his daughters and that guy is hiding his homosexuality from his wife and kids and this guy is not bothering to hide his rapey vibes than we got the actual plot that we wanted to read. It's such a focus and yet absolutely zero of the characters are likable, thus causing their inevitable fates to not invoke any real emotion over it. That just feels like a big shame, especially considering several of these people were actual living, breathing people and it feels like a big disservice to their memory with how they were treated in the narrative.
It wasn't all bad, but it definitely felt like it was bloated with a lot of stuff that felt unimportant and was boring compared to what was wanted. When it actually found time for that, it was good. But sadly those moments were far too few.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cannibalism
itsheyfay's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Outing, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Homophobia, Medical content, and War
cvab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Any and all sexual themes here (hattey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
juliatindell's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Murder, Outing, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Incest
mollymoynihan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Death
Minor: Suicide
randeerebecca's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Murder, and Abandonment
k3nzi3's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Racism, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse
thegayestghost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, and Alcohol
phantomgecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Adding a wendigo vibe to a tale of cannibalism isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it was still interesting. I don't feel like all the questions were answered sufficiently. Specifically I feel the part of the story with Edwin Bryant felt unfinished.
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic