Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Off Season by Jack Ketchum

13 reviews

wyabook234's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? No

4.5

With Ketchum, he makes a great offering from the woods with his book titled Off Season. How as an author, Ketchum doesn't hold back on showing the brutality of these cannibals as they target a gathering of friends as their latest meals. With how these characters are struggling to eat and survive; it means that no one can be safe from the savagery of nature or civilization. Almost all of their ends are met in a descriptively graphic, disturbing manner with how these characters are burned, bitten, and chewed up. However, Off Season's not having reliance on plot armour doesn't make up for how the story is conveyed in writing prose that sometimes veers off into being clunky or needlessly focused on the sexualization of the female vacationers. Furthermore, the characters can also be seen as pretty flat, which can hurt the need for the audience to connect with these characters as they struggle to stay alive in Maine's wilderness.

With that being said of Off Season, it seems that Ketchum knows how to build up the suspense and when to escalate the tension to be more effective as opposed to having the gore instantly explode on his pages. These dreadful scenes of tension can be either the scene of the cannibals watching Carla and Jim having sex or one of the cannibals playing with Marije like she is a piece of meat before she gets the upper hand by biting into his privates. Scenes like these can be most effective as they are being used to build up for a quick getaway into another shocking situation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Vomit

ohyayitsapril's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

catiecoop's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.0

Kept losing me starting at the halfway mark. Felt like it was rambling. 2 stars because it was very detailed and descriptive.

So. Much. Gore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder

rikathestrange's review

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Incest, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, and Pregnancy

issymaae's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, and Fatphobia

thegreatandwonderfulbookwitch's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

A New York editor rents a cabin in the woods in Maine and waits for friends to arrive. A wild family living nearby decide to bring a night of terror down on their heads. None will walk away without scars.

I mostly went into this blind. I found the writing to be really solid and engaging. The description of horror was just detailed enough to be disturbing without drawing out scenes too long. The imagery was gory and terrible to read. The pacing was nice, nothing was needlessly added or fluffed up. 

I wouldn't recommend this for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy horror movies and books, then you'll like this one. You'll never see a fire the same way again! I was left pretty shell shocked by the end of it all.

I received this book from Amazon first reads for free. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

gatsbyonabudget's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

killmoore_'s review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I should have learned long ago that Jack Ketchum just isn't my cup of tea. 

Everything about this fell a bit flat for me. No character depth, weak plot line, no back story to our villains. Just some horny folks in a cabin in the woods, and a disgruntled police officer who should have retired ages ago. 

Wad it gory? Yes. Was it beyond brutal? Also yes. However it felt that the attempts at shocking the reader with violence far outweighed any attempt at building a storyline worth following. More attention was put into the spice level than the actual plot line and that just isn't my thing. 

If you're into brutal gore stories with nonplots, this is for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

waverlyloyd's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Outing, and Sexual harassment

wholesome_chaotic's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

3.0

From the perspective of a horror fan this book has it all. Lean and mean. Gore soaked. Unforgiving. As a horror book it's 5 stars for being so visceral and unrelenting with it's brutality. 

However it also contains every single trigger warning a person could imagine. Very taboo subjects are presented and Ketchum lacks the deft hands to present them as anything more than shock for the sake of it. (I 'm only referring to this book with that previous statement.) It's also grossly sexist and even as a male I found myself rolling my eyes at how the women are portrayed. It doesn't help that the characters are thinner than paper. This why it only has a 3 star rating. 

There's no subtlety in this book. For better and for worse. 

Only recommend for hardcore horror fanatics with stomachs of steel and some questionable morals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury