rabidteddybear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: War and Medical content
Minor: Transphobia
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Body horror
Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, and War
lycheejelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Animal death, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, War, Blood, Murder, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Vomit
nadiaxm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Gore, Body horror, and War
librarymouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Spoiler
Madeline having been dead since before the start of the events of the novel was an interesting twist. It makes a lot of sense looking back. It's also really neat how the integration of a language with so many pronouns into the plot through the character of Alex creates further interest and intrigue in how Maddie and Alex interact concerning the way she references the fungus as if it were a child. I don't have any particular love of Poe, beyond the general appreciation, but this was an engaging use of his premise.Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide, War, Misogyny, and Vomit
I marked eating disorders as being a graphic description because of the ways in which the emaciated characters are explained in depth.cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Unfortunately, this did not hold up to my expectations.
First of all, I don't see the need for this fictional world that Kingfisher has created. She spends valuable pages explaining a world that isn't relevant to her story. That's not to say that I don't like it, but I wish she would've chosen one or the other—fantasy novel or a short horror story.
Because the mystery doesn't really start until the book is nearly done. I never really got the feeling of something ominous or even anticipation for what happened next. Well, that isn't entirely true. The part about the rabbits really intrigued me! But Kingfisher's writing style here seems too—rushed. She's moved on to the next point before she ever lets the last impression set in. I want more detail—insight into the characters.
Still, I like that she writes a non-binary character without writing an LGBT novel. I'm gay myself—I have nothing against them, but representation in genres that aren't LGBT is important, I think. Normalises it.
Spoiler
Another thing I'd like to mention, is that I personally didn't like at all the part where the fungus learns to talk and speaks through Madeleine and stuff. It was boring, really. Felt cliché and wasn't actually eerie in the least.Well, as a whole, I just think the mystery and horror never struck me. I very rarely read horror at all, but I do love Poe's work, so this disappointed me deeply.
However! Not a bad book. As I said, there were parts that intrigued me, but I'd really expected more of this book.
Graphic: Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol and Grief
Minor: Vomit, Transphobia, War, Misogyny, Sexism, and Suicide
thegayestghost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical content, and Terminal illness
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really loved how the characters interact, especially Easton and Hob the horse. I like the simple use of pronouns woven into a made up foreign language and how the culture is heavily featured in Easton's character. I loved that there was an English woman who was a mycologist as one of the unlikely heroes.
This was a fun story and I found myself wishing for more.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Gore and War
Minor: Vomit
karatics's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Chronic illness, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Confinement
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide
vixenreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, War, and Violence
Minor: Drug use, Cursing, and Death of parent
Beware of strangulation, possession by parasitic fungus, fungi and mold, deterioration of property mirroring deterioration of the human body, infection, and drowning in pools of water.