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malloreigh's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
flavicos's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
hannahrogers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
going through the story as benjis body is rotting from the inside, transforming into something he never wanted to be, never asked to be, never consented to be is such a horrific way of showcasing what its like to be trans and to not be allowed to be yourself; what forcing down the purest version of yourself does to you, how it can kill you. it was done so beautifully and so tragically and it just...illustrates it so well. the ultimate conclusion of benji becoming seraph, the end form of what he was turning into the whole story, was done so wonderfully, as well; how he gets taken over by rage and bloodlust when hes back in the cult he was raised in, how seraph awakens then as hes back to the abuse and transphobia he was raised in...it truly is poetic. he ends up the savior the Angels raised him as, only he's not their savior and he never was.
and nick...oh, i truly do love his character so much and i only wish we got into his mind more because hes such a beautifully written autistic character, which is, sadly, a rarity. hes so authentically written and represented and i felt so much of myself in him and his subtleties. his hatred of being touched, his stimming, his masking, his constant need to have it all together even when he wants to fall apart...it was so well written and i truly appreciate him so much. hes so, so special 💖
this book has so much heart and hope, and even though the story is over, i know these characters can claw into the dirt and pull themselves from the Hell theyve been plunged into. i know that they can survive and, as said near the end, maybe they can even grow up. its the least they deserve.
the small issues i have with this book - i felt the writing was a bit weak at points and i wish benjis time in the ALC was a longer portion of the book because i do feel that part was lacking; we dont get to know much of the other characters as much as i'd like - definitely dont retract from how much i enjoyed it because what the book does and the story it tells are much greater than any flaws it has. thank you Andrew Joseph White for this wonderful book 💖💖💖
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death
ktv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, and Colonisation
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
sample_text's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Dysphoria
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Medical content
meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, and War
amy_reading_23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I loved the idea of an LGBT+ youth community centre being a safe hub in the apocalypse. I would have liked maybe some more warm moments from that. But I know, as the author attests, that the book comes from rage and that is evident throughout. I thought it was interesting the sort of parallels between the idea of transitioning and Benji turning into the Seraph. The characters were also complex and not usually black and white which was well done. This is evident in Theo, who even though he has done bad things, you can still understand his way of thinking.
I would have liked to have seen more of Benji and Nick's relationship blossom. I'm not sure if this book will be having a sequel, but that would be interesting. Its great to see books with so much trans and autistic representation.
I think this book might resonate more with queer Americans as I know that the Church is quite different there to other places. From what I've seen from American media, this book seems pretty plausible.
It was well written, and I read it quite fast as I kept needing to know what happened next. I'm not sure why it wasn't five stars for me. Maybe because it was so consistently bleak and horrific without much beauty. I think a few more moments of joy and hope would have made it a more enjoyable read.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
alexsartifacts's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
esme_bonner's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Hell Followed With Us is an unusual book. Set against a dystopia of biblical proportions (literally), we follow Benji, a trans teenager, and unwilling vessel of the end times' end game. Having fled the Evangelical death cult he was raised in, Benji falls in with a crowd of young, queer, survivors, and ironically, given that he may now have only weeks to live, finally learns what it means to have something to live for.
Beset by the monstrous remains of zombie-esque plague victims, the cult's 'Angels' AKA death squads, and, perhaps most frighteningly of all, a plethora of cis white men, Benji forges real friendships with his rescuers. But the lure of love is strong, and he must figure out who he is willing to sacrifice, and what for.
This book was both queerer, and more religious than I had initially been expecting. When I read the blurb for this book I expected something that was going to end up more like Charlie Higson's Enemy series - specifically the Angus Dei angle. But I ended up with something that was a little more Evangelical, which given the US setting I should have been expecting. White builds a very plausible world, his blending of religious and environmental extremism with a kind of Evangelically intense white supremacy feels like a possible future, and whilst I would have liked to know more about how the rest of the world has fared (plagues might be global, but evangelicalism is relatively US-centric), he has managed to cram a lot of detail into a relatively short book.
For those worried about the focus on religion, particularly Christianity, particularly conservative Christianity, I, personally, don't think White's representation is 'bad,' or, like, a pointed attack. In my opinion, which is admittedly limited by neither being from the US nor of a Protestant-off-shoot persuasion, White made it very clear that the Angels were an extremist group, a cult, who had co-opted religion, but who had essentially abandoned a lot of the core tenants of the religion. This was obvious to me, as someone from a Catholic background, because the actions of the Angels are in direct opposition to a lot of very important things, e.g., Commandment not to kill. Now, again, I am not from an Evangelical background. I'm Irish Catholic, if we're getting specific, and my experience in religion is vastly different to that even of Catholics within the US, but to me this read as a commentary on the way the far-right, white supremacists, and other extremist groups pick up elements of religion and twist them. This could definitely be viewed, through that lens and given the very close relationship most conservative leaning people in the US have with Christianity, as a commentary on contemporary evangelical practice... but if you read this and thought 'you're attacking my church specifically' I think you should maybe take a step back and ask, "is my church treating others the way we would want to be treated?" If the answers no, then the call is coming from inside the house. White isn't attacking you, you are attacking others. Sit with that, and then do better.
Back to our regularly scheduled book reviewing,
I don't read a lot of horror, so I am appreciative of how the gore was handled in this book. I felt that there were some visceral moments, but for the most part the description was impressionistic, or focused on feeling. That being said, I do wish a little more time had been given to the (SPOILER) final descriptions of Seraph, I struggled to understand what exactly that might look like. My mental image was kind of dragon-y, and I think it should maybe have been more humanoid. All the same, I found the world, and the people within it, fascinating to read about.
All taken together, I really enjoyed this. There was a lot in it that gave me pause, and a lot in it I think could be polarising, but personally I found it very readable. 4 stars.
Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
This is a horror novel about a trans teenager from a conservative religious cult becoming a monster - physically.