Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

3 reviews

riverofhorton's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious 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? No

2.0

So much of this book was enjoyable to read, which allowed for such a degree of immersion that I managed to get through it much faster than I normally would a book of this length. That said, the ending was very disappointing. Not only did it seem rushed, like the author realised they had a deadline in a few days and so had to wrap everything up as quickly as possible, but the actual ending itself seemed half-baked and incomplete. For most of the book, I understood why it was so popular, then I got to the end and didn't get it anymore. There were so many good ideas within this book, and I will be looking further into the alternative history genre, but this overall isn't a book I would recommend. There were a few things I expected, like all the racism and especially anti-Semitism, some things I could overlook like the writing being disjointed and confusion at times, but when combined with the non-ending, it adds up to being too much for me to overlook.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

jstilts's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

For a "what if Hitler won" sci-fi novel this completely confounded all my expectations of what the book would be about, where it would be set, who it would feature and what their attitudes would be. More a reflection on the nature of the ancient Chinese divination text the "I Ching" the World War 2, more an exploration of Japanese Inner Culture and Class than Fascism, more a road trip to the nature of reality than an struggle against oppression - this book spends serious time on jewellery and antiques and the search for honour and integrity.

Once you have read this book, I highly recommend you seek out an interview with the author "Vertex Interview with Philip K. Dick" which will give you further insights into the nature of this books relationship to the I Ching. Also, look up "Atlantropa" on Wikipedia, it's in relation to a minor and what seemed to be a somewhat fantastical note in the book, but was actually something genuinely planned by the Nazis.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and War

backyardjake's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Worth reading for the shock value of the alt-history alone.
Each character's perspective is a rather interesting take on the world they live in. They way's they've adapated, their thought processes marred or unchanged based off the the society they live in. One character in particular goes on for a page and a half trying to understand the apathy and destructive nature of evil men which was quite interesting to ready. Well written ambigous characters. Still a little confused as to the what is being said by the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, and War

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts