Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

83 reviews

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

chelseachips's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Ableism and Chronic illness

Minor: Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

jenivere's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

gizley0420's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Gore, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Dementia, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

paracosim's review against another edition

dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Cannibalism, and Car accident

fausticontrelibros's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

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

truckasaurusb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

addanumlaut's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

1.75

my first stephen king book; not a huge fan of his writing style. after about halfway through the book i was bored of it and was just reading it to be done. the premise was scary enough i guess, just wish the writing could match up to it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder

cowsaymuh's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Child death

Moderate: Violence and Grief