Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

176 reviews

aidenm's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I wish there was more of it tbh? There were time skips that I found myself really wanting to know what happened!! Also I fully thought the main character was 15 until they said she had turned 20. They felt young and that made sense for how much information they had withheld from them but being reminded they were in their 20s always surprised me. That’s such a small thing tho I ate this up in 2 days. During midterm season of my senior year.

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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dark 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

This is my first Chuck Tingle book and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of their horror. If you are creeped out by bugs, you will have a very rough time with the horror elements here. I was surprised at how quickly things got freaky. I really liked the main character and the found family she made, I always prefer my horror books to feature good-hearted characters that I can get invested in. Mara Wilson did a great job narrating. A heavier spooky book if you've had any experiences with neurodivergency/autism, homophobia, and fundamentalist religion.  

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searedfish's review against another edition

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

3.25

Not really good, but very entertaining. Every time the main character said frick I had to take a second and sigh 

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telurin's review against another edition

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

5.0

Excellent! Give it a try, it picks up quickly and hooks you quick. 

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phvntomstvrs's review against another edition

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

4.5


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sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The premise of this book interested me, as well as its popularity online. While I was expecting a humorous horror novel about queerness and Christianity, I was thrilled to also discover how strong Chuck Tingle’s writing is.

My main issue with the book comes from the time jumps. There are a few places where Rose talks about weeks of research she’s done, but we never get to see it. Especially considering how intelligent she is, I would have loved to spend more time seeing what her research process is like and discovering new information. There were a few times I felt I was being told what happened, rather than getting to experience it. I also found the themes of this book to be incredibly heavy-handed, I didn’t need to be told conversion therapy is wrong and would rather see the repercussions of these beliefs without being pulled out of it by somewhat condescending phrases. Trust your readers, Chuck!

My complaints aside, I did really enjoy this book. There are several passages that were incredibly visual and exciting, from monster descriptions to the sunset. I also loved how Tingle built suspense, I felt like I was reading a marathon with how excited I felt. The premise of this book is also a brilliant idea and I enjoyed going on this journey with Rose.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of sci-fi horror. While there are definitely religious themes, it’s the scientific procedure of the characters that really moves the story along.

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shinypurplepants's review against another edition

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4.0

Gross, horrific and romantic! Long, long list of content warnings and the biggest one isn't even recognized by Storygraph: do not read this if you cannot handle bugs, body horror and religious abuse.

Otherwise, this Tingle title is a visceral romp from abuse to self actualization. As a queer person raised in a religious household I felt seen. It is a cathartic and horrifying feeling. 8/10 highly recommended!

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quitegood's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. Just wow. When I first saw this book one fateful lunch hour, I thought "Chuck Tingle? The guy who writes the meme erotica? That Chuck Tingle? He wrote a novel? And its horror!?" so of course I had to buy it.

And I do not regret doing so one bit. This blindingly paced horror yarn about love, loss, and faith. If you want horror that makes you feel a whole gammet of emotions, this is for you! 

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kshertz's review against another edition

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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? No

4.0

Really Chuck Tingle can do anything and I would follow him anywhere. I’m not much for a horror, but I love the type of horror that he writes. His horror is based on the world around us and the people that make the world horrific. He makes excellent Points and I find myself swept up in the story and committed to the characters. Camp Damascus and the idea of conversion camps as a horror with certain supernatural pieces was really well done. 

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zellerpress's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I read this for a local book club, and I’m glad I did! While I don’t typically read horror books, I couldn’t put this down. I think it helps that I went into it with no expectations but with curiosity. 

I loved this book. The story, the writing, the audiobook narrator, all of it. One of my favorite reads of this year. 

I think don’t think it’s a YA book and not sure why other reviews feel so strongly about that. The main character is 20 years old but isn’t in college. There’s also some pretty gruesome descriptions of gore and body horror. 

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