Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Intercepts by T.J. Payne

9 reviews

theaceofpages's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I think this book can best be described as a horror in two (connected) parts: the horror Riley experiences with her grief and apparitions and the horror that the Antennas (dehumanised people that are part of a government experiment) face on a daily basis. And Joe, Riley's dad and a higher up in an antenna facility, is caught in the middle.

This book was... horrifying. Right from the start. And somehow it just managed to get worse and worse as it went on. The ways everyone's minds were being messed with and the ways that the line between reality and lies was blurred was done so well (okay, there was one scene where I was just confused about its inclusion (I literally started glancing around my room with my hands raised because it just came out of nowhere) but that's one of many). 

As the book went on and everything kept getting worse as everything ramped up again and again. I just kept feeling more and more for Riley who was innocent in it all and was just going through an all around bad time. Joes should have been there for her. She deserves so much live and therapy.  Everyone else? Yeah, they kind of sucked. Some understandably so, but I am still shocked by the amount of messed up things that happened in this book. Maybe some events were a little too convenient, but not so much that they veer into unbelievable territory. And the whole concept? Maybe the outcome of the experimentation isn't all that believable but the cruelty that lead to them actually happening is far too real.

And the ending... (not much of a spoiler but just in case)

As things started heading towards the conclusion my mind kept racing ahead due to a niggling little horrible thought in the back of my mind about where it could be going.

Overall it was so well executed. It's been a little while since I read this (I'm behind on reviews) and this one has definitely stuck with me. There are several ideas and moments that have stuck with me as if I read this yesterday. I'll be keeping an eye out for more books by this author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse and Sexual content

keiraonyxraven's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Medical trauma

Minor: Animal cruelty

wait_whoissheagain's review against another edition

dark tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. This book had me gripped from the very first chapter! The only time I stopped reading this was when it got dark and I was spooked (I’m a bit of a chicken)! The suspense was amazing, the ending was amazing, the plot and overall idea behind the story was amazing! The events and every gruesome detail was described in a way that had my stomach churning and my brain wanting more! The gore, the tension and the fast-paced action had me captivated and I absolutely devoured this book! Highly recommend for all horror lovers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Infidelity and Death of parent

darthbecca's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.75

It’s a gore-fest with body horror, which I’m fine with, and the story concept wasn’t bad. I don’t think it was quite developed enough - there are a lot of places this concept could have gone that I think could have been more interesting. There is a major plot point that I think wasn’t explained well. It’s an acceptable read if you’re into body horror and gore, but I definitely don’t consider this book to be scary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

misscarlaxox's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, and Murder

ladyshamen's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

Oh hell, this was a ride from start to finish. Sci-fi, horror, emotional damage. I couldn't put it down and blazed through in one day. 


Unreliable narrator at it's finest. You can't trust any of your senses in this and after every twist is a new twist! 


And somehow, this book managed a few jump scares. How is that even possible? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

luf100's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

I loved this book so much. Had me gripped from the very beginning to the very end, had some super creepy parts in it too. I don’t usually read books so quickly but I couldn’t put this one down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

silverheartbookclub's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

eriinmaureenn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail