Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

22 reviews

frmeden's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Cannibalism

volo's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I like this book because im obsessed with the Hannibal series. It very much feels like it was written back in 1988. Lots of racism and homophobia and very detailed childhood abuse. I dont like this Will Graham as much as I liked Edward Nortons Will Graham in the film adaptation or the NBC series but it was alright. Definitely a cult classic that probably wouldn't get the same following if published today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Medical content, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Many mentions of graphic childhood abuse. Graphic depictions of gore and torture. A fair amount of racism and homophobia.

paperbackacademie's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

kateausten's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

alomie's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

• 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

4.0

This was a surprising win for me, I'm not a huge horror reader but I found this to be fast paced and I found myself reaching for it constantly to find out the ending. 

There are bits in this that genuinely made me squirm, it was rough to read and the constant intense threat of Francis Dolarhyde attacking again really makes you want the book to end. 

The final twist in the book did feel a little rushed in my opinion, and I would have in a rare moment preferred this book to be a little longer to give the final standoff just a bit more space and time to develop. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

reesie_omnibus's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

/3.75 stars/

As a long-time fan of the Hannibal series, I found the book just as interesting. It is as gritty and unhinged as you would imagine a book about a serial killer would be. With that said, the story is teetering on the edge of being dated. (In some instances, it reads exactly as you would imagine people would talk from its publication time.) But I digress, the excitement of the cat and mouse chase being the main driving force of the book while Hannibal lurks in the background. A solid recommendation for anyone who may be on the fence about reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Ableism

jessieann's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, and Murder

holly_mc's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

mysimas's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

This book tries really hard to humanize its serial killer. And it works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death

criminolly's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a reread for me, I first read it sometime in the 80s or 90s and remembered it pretty well, which I guess is a good sign. It’s almost incredible, the plot is taut, the police work is convincing and the main villain is really creepy and memorable. He’s also much more fully formed than many fictional killers which definitely adds to the book. Hannibal Lecter is here too of course, although not in the book nearly as much as I expected. 
What lets it down a little, and makes it a 4 rather than a 5 star read, is Harris’s prose. It’s often great, sparse and effective, but occasionally becomes outrageously flowery and intrusive. That takes away from the impact of the book, but not so much that I wouldn’t still heartily recommend it if you haven’t read it. There’s a reason why it’s considered a seminal work in the serial killer genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Murder