Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Playground

Unsure how to rate this book. Like yeah, it delivered on the premise, but I was so incredibly uncomfortable in ways that I wasn't ready for. The gore was well done, the descriptions of the torture contraptions were questionable though. I feel that the more simplistic writing style helps keep the focus on the horror at hand, but some things could have been left up to the imagination (unless that goes against the genre in general, this was my first splatterpunk novel tbh.) I probably read the first 15% of the book with a scowl or groan on my face, and the last 85% mouth agape and ready to vomit. I might try another book in this genre but with adult characters FOR SURE.

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graydonoliver95's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

1.5

There was a lot of weird and unnecessary sexual stuff that I felt didn't really add anything to the plot, and it quite honestly bumped the rating down a bit. It's not that I have a problem with sexual content, because I don't, but it seemed specifically designed to make people uncomfortable and I don't vibe with that. If you've ever seen Criminal Minds: it gave me the vibe of the sorts of movies or stories they'd find in an UnSub's home.

I also just didn't enjoy some of the writing. The way he described certain things just felt weird, clumsy, and/or juvenile at times. He also overused words a lot. He seemed to enjoy the words "pissing" to describe any sort of dripping liquid, blood or tears or sweat; and "meat" to describe human flesh. Over and over and over again. It just got really repetitive.

I also was just kind of bored. So much happened but it felt like the "plot" was more just an excuse to kill off a bunch of children as gruesomely as possible. The explanations for certain characters' actions (mainly Geraldine) just didn't really work for me. It felt like thinly veiled excuses for the deaths to be written. I just didn't buy it.

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borrowmybookjacket's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I got to this from TikTok and I was underwhelmed. It's horrific, but I guess I've been mildly desensitized or something from horror movies. I didn't feel very attached to anyone, but I sure hated the assholes. The sexual scenes were more unsettling than the gore in my opinion. The gore was very well written though. The premise is basically a Saw style playground and you get that for sure.

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whatthegayle'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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

While I enjoyed the overall plot there were some parts that I felt were unnecessary.

The children characters were well written and believable. They were mostly easy to care about which made their fates all that more shocking and hard to read at times.

The horror/gore parts were well done and I enjoyed the few pieces of art that was included.

The only part of the book that I didn't feel was needed was the incestuous crush the main villain had on her own mother, or at least I felt that it didn't need to go to the extremes that it went in order to be horrific. Sometimes less is more.

That said, I can say I never felt as sick as I did reading a book as I did when it was describing the old woman's intimate areas or what she did to get as close as she could to her mom.

Back to the better parts. The gore was well written as was the other characters reactions to the situations.

Overall, it you're a fan of unsettling shock horror, then you'll probably lovetgis book.

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waverlyloyd's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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splatteredbastard's review

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

MAJOR TRIGGER WARNINGS! Spoiler-free review.

CWs: abuse (physical, verbal, sexual), rape, molestation, child abuse, incest, pedophilia, murder, violence, gore, masturbation, sex, animal abuse/death, child death/violence/abuse, blood, urine, feces, vomit, hardcore fetishes, disturbing imagery/descriptions, nazism, homophobia, ableism. (This may not be an all-encompassing list, so please research TWs for yourself as well.)

This book was really my first dive into the horror genre, and it has honestly set the bar so high. I am a fan of gore, so Playground truly delivered. Personally, I think I loved it because the storyline resembles my favorite movie series, Saw. Not only were the descriptions gory, but there were also illustrations. I think that only added to the horror and disgust that the book portrayed. The basic premise involves 3 families who come from disadvantaged backgrounds who are invited by Geraldine Borden, a rich philanthropist, to test out her playground equipment in exchange for money. Unbeknownst to the families, there is a grim and disturbing twist.

I am genuinely so excited to be able to read another of his books soon, but I’m not sure which I would like to continue with. I absolutely will be picking up another of his books soon. Anyone who is interested in gore, definitely check out his work!

Video review on Tiktok, also spoiler free: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR37LQ6e/

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