Reviews tagging 'Torture'

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

31 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. 

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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

twocents's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.0

A classic for a reason. It really made me think of how science interacts with the world around us today, and what that means for the world, for science, for humanity, and for us as individuals. The science isn't believable, but as it's just a tool to communicate a broader thought, I wasn't bothered by it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Racism

starscollision's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Body horror

kalea_02's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, and Murder

Minor: Body horror, Blood, and Alcohol

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

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

Minor: Suicide

robynsimpson's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

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

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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.

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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

jowmy4's review against another edition

dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, and Suicide attempt

looney_moons's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-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

2.5

This just wasn't it for me. The writing feels way to pretentious and while I like the concept of the story, I don't like the format nor the abuse. I understand that this might be a metaphor but if it is, it is not a very good one. I liked the story but not the writing. The only thing that got me through it was listening to the audiobook while simultaneously reading it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture

Moderate: Ableism and Racism