Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

52 reviews

megbert21's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Sexual violence

heather_harrison's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

✔️ Frankenstein retelling but make it Frankenstein’s great niece, and her paleontologist husband. 
✔️ Gorgeous gothic vibe 
✔️ Even more feminist than Shelley with a spotlight on misogyny 
✔️ Queer slow burn romance 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

thewolfishgal's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Death, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

I find it fascinating that based on this book and its category, the thing that makes the original Frankenstein horror is that it's human. Cutting up and rebuilding animals doesn't hit that same squirm factor, I suppose (not to mention the death count is about 1/6). These characters hit on a lot of topics that build the overlapping challenges they face: chronic illness and not being believed, being a poor woman or a person of color in a field completely run by rich white men. Not to mention the passages about how when a woman is passionate about anything, it is perceived as replacing or biding time until they achieve what they should be passionate about: children. Overall a fantastic read, I love comparing Mary to her great-uncle as well as his creature, a lot of us have that experience growing up as the monster.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

raichoreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I was quite taken by this book from the jump. I really love Mary and the nuance this story offered around being a woman in science was really satisfying. I also appreciated the interrogation of what resurrection science could mean for the world. Mary’s grappling with alienation as both related to gender and not was really engaging. Also always a sucker for a good queer storyline. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and Colonisation

aly_p's review against another edition

Nope, animal testing. Can't. 
And it was looking promising too, even if the husband was a waste of space

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

“We shall steal fire from the heavens, and I shall not repent, even for one minute- for what sort of God would condemn us to such a cold world without it? We are merely taking what should have been ours from the beginning.”

This was truly spectacular. As a huge lover of gothic literature, this really ticked so many boxes for me. An atmospheric tale of beauty, horror, and the intersection of the two that are so commonplace within the genre.

This book is an ode to Frankenstein and scientists of the time, this was a stunning tale of science, womanhood, and the pursuit of discovery. All tied up in one woman’s love of dinosaurs. I loved this, deep in my bones. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, and Racism

Minor: Racism, Death of parent, and Colonisation

hihicass's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Gore, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

mothmania's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

hiddenfallacies's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

Our Hideous Progeny is a delight of a novel, bathed in the essence of Victorian-era science and all the opportunities it held - if you were the right person. It follows Mary Frankenstein, great-niece of that Frankenstein, as she struggles to realize her place and purpose in the world. Her anger and sorrowful past leads her to an idea - one that most would find absurd: bringing a dinosaur to life.

From its real-world details (that had me pausing in my reading to look up the historical context) to its richly expressed environments, I found myself lost in this story quite easily. The narrative often made me feel as if I was experiencing the world alongside Mary, sharing her sorrows and triumphs and everything in-between. Perhaps that was one of my favorite things about this novel - all of the characters felt real. 

The only thing preventing this from being a five-star read is that I felt the story ended right as it was truly beginning for Mary! I would love to see the follow-up the author joked about in their note at the end. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Vomit, and Colonisation