Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

39 reviews

nova_lilias's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Suicide

arellareads's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I like Stephen King books because his literary style is so dependable, and this one is no exception — full of descriptive language and symbolism, insights into the human psyche, and an ever-growing tension that’s rooted in quality rather than cheap thrills.

“Pet Sematary” is powerful because of the overarching themes of grief and its toll on family relationships. King has an exceptional way of merging horror with deep psychological and philosophical questions. Although the surface elements are dark and gore-y, the naivety and curiosity of children when confronted with death is so realistic, and so are the hardships that the family has to endure. 

Part one is a bit slow, but part two has some of the most poignant and bone-chilling writing. King’s recurrent personification of death through “Oz the Gweat and Tewwible” and the physiological turmoil and hysteria of human grief is so visceral and so raw.

The only thing that holds this book back is some of the off-putting language and appropriation. In part one, the women feel like they exist as plot devices; this does get remedied toward part two as we see more of Ellie, and especially Rachel, who actually has a backstory and intrinsic motivators. 

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of “othering” toward different races and cultures. The supernatural elements of this book are built on Indigenous Micmac folklore, twisting a sacred burial site into a place of evil, while the townsfolk often talk about the Natives as un-human. King builds his story on Indigenous lore, but doesn’t properly address or resolve these issues in the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

vorticella's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.75

This my first real horror book and it was terrifying but I loved it and want more. That small town vibe with dark secrets delving into the supernatural was so gripping. I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

voicenextdoor's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

3.5 I feel like this really should have been a novella and then it would have been a 5 star read. Spending so much time in Louis’s head really didn’t serve the book. You could have cut a 1/3 of his inner monologue and had a much more compelling and terrifying story. It wasn’t until 75% that I was finally into what was happening. A disappointing reading experience because of all the hype surrounding the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Terminal illness

mika_thewriter's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death and Child death

Minor: Terminal illness

emimcmanis's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Excrement and Cannibalism

kathleenwho's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

3.0

3 stars because, like any other King novel, I could not put it down. Only 3 because this is maybe my least favourite so far - the build-up was suspenseful and well-written, but very long compared to the climax, which was a bit disappointing and cringey.  

There is a lot of outdated language and ideas with regards to Native American cultures, disability, and chronic and terminal illness - mostly in-character for the time and culture of the story, but still jarring. 

Particularly strong book for King's weird horny comparisons that seem completely inappropriate, e.g.

describing hills in a graveyard while the main character is digging up his son's grave as being "as natural and beautiful as a woman's breasts."

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

moonbury's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, and Grief

itsjustgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

The concept of the Wendigo and the 'sematary' is great... but the slow and laboured execution and anticlimactic ending really soured this book for me. I had to listen at x1.5 to actually finish it. Meh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Alcohol

ariannaemilia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Alcohol