Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Woom by Duncan Ralston

7 reviews

carissatheluca's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

1.0

Yep this is officially it for me. No more extreme horror. The authors are weirdo creeps who can't write worth a shit and I'm just sick of the lack of imagination. Rape and abortion and childbirth and violence against women is "scary" and "extreme," whoopdeedoo ya got me there, call me triggered. Since when does violent, aggressive, obsessive misogyny count as a plot? 

(And just like May Lietz, Duncan Ralston writes intimate female body horror without knowing/understanding how our bodies function. My faaaaaaaave!) 

White people shouldn't write the N word. That's not a controversial statement. You are a white man from fucking CANADA, Duncan. Have some decorum. You can be a creepy weirdo without breaking the cardinal rule of being a half-decent white person. Don't tell me the character is black so it's fine (one wasn't) or "it's supposed to be accurate," I read that fetus scene. You do not gaf about accuracy. 

Just ugh. Bad. Fucking weird and unsatisfying. Like I've said before, I DO know what I'm getting into when I pick up extreme horror (....welllllll.... I guess not since I expect the authors to BE ABLE TO WRITE). I'm looking for some whack shit and bloody gutty nasty. This isn't even anything. I don't know what it's supposed to be. Word vomit. 

Don't get me started on extreme horror authors and vomit. We'll be here for hours and I will still have more complaints. It's not even a GOOD description... It doesn't even serve a *purpose!!* .... I can't. 

At least the writing is minutely better than Leitz. (Yes I use her as my point of reference for shit books now. Sue me.) MINUTELY. "Although not technically a 'pinhead,' he'd been called it several times by those lower on the evolutionary chain than himself." are not the words of a particularly talented author. 

Bonus: leave fat women ALLOONNEE, freaks. They have been through enough!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abortion

abbz_o_lutely's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I'm going with 3.5 stars. The writing is impeccable and very much so has you invested and turning pages. This left me constantly on the line to DNF or to push through to the end to know the full story. I went into this book super blind and I came out of it wishing I could pretend I never opened the first page. This book is very.... Icky.
It needs about 3-4 pages of content warnings as this book can be very triggering.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

There is no going back to your normal self after this book. I wish I could erase this from my brain.

ashtonfinnie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

ick.. simply ick

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

annihilatrix's review against another edition

dark funny fast-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

2.5

The writing is too good for the content to be so stupid! Potentially I don’t understand extreme horror, it’s so predictable if you’re capable of imagining the next disgusting thing that could happen.

Cramps after putting heroin in your gf’s vagina? Overdose miscarriage!
Anal sex? Messy prolapse!
Into masturbating with a mannequin? Make a dude into a mannequin by sanding his dick off! 
Having a sex worker dilate her vagina when you have mom issues? Stick your head up there for rebirthing!

These are all predictions I made while reading the opening premise of chapters that came true by their end. I might try another book by this author just to see if they have ever tried more compelling subject matter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

livid_by_any_other_name's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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: Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Abortion

Moderate: Sexism

ladynocturnal's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

1.0

Relies on shock value. The fast pace and short read does not make up for the story. 
 

 
I do not mind extreme horror or gore, but the topic of rape needs to be handled respectfully. 

The main female character has her body and trauma used for the sake of the protagonist, the ending is particularly disgusting. Sexual violence being used in service of someone's goals is vile.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Vomit

myka's review against another edition

medium-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

What an utterly stupid piece of trash. Bending and twisting the female anatomy to fit his sick imagination. The whole time I was reading, I wasn't disgusted by the gore, but by the stupidity of the scenes. This book was clearly written by a man who never touched a woman. He has no idea about the difference between a vagina and uterus. The "plot" made me cringe so hard that I was grinding my teeth. This is not horror. It's an abomination of a male fantasy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy