Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

133 reviews

whitwithabook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I ended up picking this book back up. I thought it was a unique premise and wanted to give it another chance. It was slow throughout the book and a bit confusing. I loved the idea of the book and wish i could have been more into it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism

sarah_hafer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Gun violence

daturas's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

first 50 pages or so had trouble holding my attention but once i got going it was impossible to put down. it just keeps getting better and better. what surprised me the most was its beautifully universal & nuanced take on parenthood--the entire book is full of love letters from parents to their children (metaphorically). this book is an instant rec for anyone who loves any kind of horror--there's stuff for just about everyone in here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Suicide, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism

spoiler for the answer to the question you will want to know within the first 50 pages or so:

Spoiler

yes, the dog does die. no, it is not fun, although it could be worse and it is technically "offscreen". more dogs die later. sorry. the book is still really good.

catghost's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Pregnancy, Gun violence, and Violence

mary_stormageddon's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.75

There was very little structure to this book which made it hard to read at times. I'm still not sure I fully followed the plot. But it scared me, it kept me up all night, upset. And that's what I was hoping for. Also, I learned a fair bit. Not sure if I'll read any more of his books, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gore, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

The Only Good Indians is such a compelling and gripping horror story once you get into it. The beginning is a little slow, and the author makes you work to decipher his writing style - but it pays off to figure out the rhythm of it. I especially liked the various POV shifts and the importance of even the most miniscule details. Will definitely be reading more by Stephen Graham Jones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Racism, Stalking, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Hate crime, Body horror, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide, and Torture

Moderate: Classism, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

Minor: Vomit and Infertility

makabra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Suicide, and Hate crime

Moderate: Xenophobia and Alcoholism

Minor: Abortion

elkboy23's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Death of parent, Suicide, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Alcohol, and Gore

Moderate: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Racism, Stalking, Police brutality, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Hate crime

Minor: Classism, Grief, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury

ashthecryptid's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Colonisation, Child death, Mental illness, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Gore, Murder, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, and Animal cruelty

blacksphinx's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

This book is not normally my speed. If you love slasher movies and have a high tolerance for gore and violence towards humans and pets alike, pick this book up. 

I somehow managed to hold on through things that normally would have made me put the book down forever and it was so good. One of the most PERFECT uses of second-person I've encountered in a novel; a genius way to incorporate the slasher movie PoV-of-the-killer shots directly into the narrative. I knew it was going to be 5 stars at the ~70% mark when

Spoiler

the goddamn slasher challenges the basketball-loving final girl to a game of basketball because she wants to wreak her in a game of her favorite sport before killing her OMG.

If you can get through the things that start occurring around the 1/3rd point and aren't squeamish about animals dying, you should finish the book - it's totally worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Hate crime, and Racism

Moderate: Vomit, Body horror, Police brutality, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Car accident