Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

22 reviews

tungstenmouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This book did not age well at all. Some of the attitudes presented are appalling by today’s standards. It’s also brutal and very dark. If you are very attached to animals you may have a very hard time with this. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Physical abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

kryten4k's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad 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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Racial slurs, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

mmirjamm's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Alcoholism

antmahn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Torture, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide

strabbyfieldz's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-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

0.5

This book had some really evocative images and ideas, but you can find these ideas in a book that is significantly less socially darwinistic / flat out racist and ableist. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Racism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Religious bigotry

tking250's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism and Suicidal thoughts

jbabbm's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book was better than I expected, and it's an easy to read classic. Wells decided to use the Island and its Beast Folk as a literary device to tackle various moral topics. I truly consider this a must read.

Also, this is classified as a children's book apparently but I honestly wouldn't read it to children below the age of 10 at least. It's not scary or gory, but I do think that it deals with complicated subjects that may prove too heavy/upsetting for a kid.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

anastasiamakes's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror

Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Cannibalism

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Sexual assault, Slavery, Antisemitism, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

crufts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.25

In The Island of Dr Moreau, HG Wells asks us: where is the line drawn between human and beast? And what would happen if that narrow line began to fray?

The tale is told by Londoner Edward Prendick, a man from London who has the misfortune to be shipwrecked, eventually coming ashore the titular island. Here he finds the amoral Dr Moreau, a once-renowned London surgeon who was chased out of town after his bizarre and cruel animal experiments were publicized. Sure enough, the island is crawling with the strange half-human, half-beast results of his experiments...

At a slim 133 pages, the book can't help but run at a good pace. Similarly, the locations and characters used are condensed to a minimal few, maintaining a strong sense of unity and cohesion. The story also ends on a strong note that ties together everything the protagonist has seen over the course of the book.

While vivid horror themes like these are not my favourite, The Island of Dr Moreau is nonetheless a strong example of the genre.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Blood

Minor: Racism