Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

29 reviews

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Sugar.Honey.Iced.Tea! (SH!T) This vaguely reminded me of Fast & Furious except set primarily in the south and with characters that have you on the edge the entire time. Bug will have you rooting for him from start to finish. Just when you think the job he needs to get done is finished, nope. Not even close. Highly recommend this for an instant thrill. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing and Blood

Minor: Racism, Sexual content, and Death of parent

aharper's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content

wirt's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Lord. What a book. The writing style is very straight forward and heavy on the similes, but it had a nice flow that kept the book going and going. It was a wild one for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

courtnoodles's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, and Abandonment

Minor: Sexual content

kshertz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved Razorblade Tears and everyone said this was even better and they were right. I could not put this book down. I love this author’s style. He takes a fictional story filled with action and in every moment he can, throws in the reasons why life is this way for people deemed criminals or hardened or troublemakers. They are humanized as victims of the system and the cycles of poverty as well as having no support when times get tough. He tackles all the “isms” with hard hitting truth. Nothing is sugar coated and you take this ride with the knowledge that this is a reality and there is a real reason behind what happens in society today. I will definitely be reading anything this author writes in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

starrysteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This was an exhilarating read. Intense stakes, a sharp written voice, and excellent pacing that goes from lingering moments of deep characterization to heart-pounding action scenes. I was shocked and horrified and triumphant. 

This is a story about inescapable poverty & racism. It's a story about family - about generational violence and struggling with identity and our MC's deep desire to be a good father. At its core, it's a story about one man yearning for freedom. Throw in a heist (where things rapidly funnel out of control) and a lot of action-packed getaway drives, and you've got me hooked.

We follow Beauregard ("Bug") as he attempts to create an honest life for himself and his family, leaving his exploits as a getaway driver in the past. But a lot of things go wrong all at once, and Bug is tempted by an old acquaintance to lean back into the Life he so desperately wanted to bury for one final heist. (Though is it ever one final heist?)
 
Bug is a deeply compelling protagonist - he makes some pretty nasty choices, but you still find yourself rooting for him. That's not easy to pull off.

The prose is overall strong, but at moments Cosby leans into the similes so much that it got a little distracting. There's also a lot of detailed car talk, but even as a reader with 0 expertise in this area I felt like I was able to follow along (it just took a little extra effort at times, and led to some descriptions that felt quite dry). 

It's a gritty read with a lot of depth. It's intense. It's violent. It's heavy on the heart. But in my opinion? It's worth it.

CW: murder, violence, gore, body horror, gun violence, drug use, racial slurs, torture, fatphobia, cancer, sexual content, car accident, animal death, fire, vomit

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

abby315's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Torture

nbeckham'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? Yes

5.0

Had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Couldn’t decide whether I was on Beauregard’s team or not. Great read. Would make such a good movie! The author did such a good job placing you in the setting, I could see those roads and feel the summer heat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and Blood

horizonous's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, and Excrement

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Vomit