Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

56 reviews

clio_'s review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror

alixbx's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

You most likely will not like either of the characters from whom we hear this story: Carlota & Montgomery. Carlota is childish and selfish to a fault and it is very rarely endearing. Montgomery struggles with addiction and is jaded by his ex-wife for who he went into extreme debt to try an keep her married to him. Carlota instigates fights with everyone and Montgomery buys into any disagreement no matter what. Eduardo is a brat. Doctor Moreau is an absolute jerk beginning to end. The only redeemable characters are the hybrids, specifically Cachito and Lupe. Ramona is also a gift. By the end epilogue, Montgomery is somewhat likable because he has the most character development of anyone in the book, but the epilogue's end is really confusion. This next section is really important and contains some level of spoilers and will be marked as such, but if you have any sexual triggers, it'll be important for you to read it.

There are two sexual triggers in this book: age-gap attraction and undisclosed beastiality. The signs that Montgomery is attracted to Carlota are evident pretty early in the book, but it is unclear what their age-gap is until much later in the book. Since Montgomery has already been married and divorced, you can surmise there is a notable age gap, but about 2/3 of the way into the book we learn that it is a 15 year ago gap. The bulk of the book takes place when Carlota is 20 years old and Montgomery is 35. He meets her when she is 14 and still play dolls, and even discussing watching her grow up. It's really uncomfortable to read. Later in the book, there are sexual encounters between Carlota and Eduardo Lizalde. I was not keen minded enough to realize that Carlota herself is a hybrid, shame on me, but she has sex with Eduardo multiple times before it is revealed that she is part jaguar. Eduardo still wishes to have a sexual relationship with her for the remainder of his time in the book. So we learn after the fact that we have this unknowing beastiality and then it becomes a desired sexual encounter. I had to take a break from the book for several hours to really process if I was going to finish it because that's just not something I really want to read about, but I was able to overcome it only because I don't like Eduardo so I never wanted there to be a sexual relationship between Carlota and him, but also because I just don't care for Carlota's character either.

In thinking about all the trigger warnings, my love of Silvia's other book (Mexican Gothic), and the epilogue - I'm not regretful that I've read this book, but I am not as impressed with this story. It is rated lower on average by readers than Mexican Gothic, perhaps because some of the other content in the other book being even more controversial than this, but the plot of the other book is resolved much more neatly than this one. Do not expect a happy ending or a concrete vision of an ending, either. I think I honestly had more questions than answers by the end of it. The only thing I can say positively is that Carlota

doesn't end up in any romantic relationship

and it is so rarely seen for stories where there is a female lead character.

My best advice - really look at the trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: War

Beastiality, One-sided attraction, Age-gap attraction, Age-gap sexual content

lailybibliography's review

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Genocide, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

mlovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Gun violence, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

fairytalefootnotes's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️

Tropes: Mad Scientist, Genetic Modification

3rd Act Breakup?: Yes

The Praise: The side characters really stood out to me in this one. The hybrids really clawed their way into my heart.

The Critique: I felt kind of misled by the potential romance that was set up between Carlota and Montgomery

and how it never came to fruition.

Final Thoughts: Overall the book just felt kind of…fine. I didn’t have any strong feelings either way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gun violence, Slavery, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

freesiaelect's review

reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Oof, sheltered young girls are a tough POV

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Alcoholism

lady_valhella's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Cancer and Infertility

vixenreader's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

Half of the book is more about atmosphere than plot. Be patient, because you will get a thrilling climax once you get over the hump and see how the author subverts Wells’ sci-fi classic in the best possible way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Chronic illness, Drug use, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Murder, Dysphoria, and War

Please remember to be aware of animal-human hybrids, death of a spouse, grief over a lost relationship, financial struggles, dehumanizations of slaves, attempted rape, animal violence, first sex experiences, narcissism, surrogacy, and experimentation on animals.

deedireads's review

dark tense medium-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

4.25

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is a smart, atmospheric, anticolonial / feminist reimagining of an H.G. Wells classic. It’s not the fastest paced, but it is very good.

For you if: You like gothic sci-fi novels that dip a toe into body horror.

FULL REVIEW:

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau has been sitting on my shelf since it came out, but its nomination for the 2023 Hugo Award bumped it to the top of my list. And I’m glad it did! This book is smart and well done, and I enjoyed it.

This book is a loose reimagining of a classic sci-fi novel, The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells. That book is about a shipwrecked man who bears witness to Moreau’s vivisection experiments, which attempt to turn animals into humans. This one places the story on the Yucatan Peninsula during the war between its indigenous people and colonizers, gives Moreau a daughter and makes her — and the caretaker, Montgomery — the focus, and replaces the shipwrecked visitor with the son of their wealthy patron. It takes the original’s themes around morality and man playing god, and adds colonization and misogyny into the mix.

I haven’t read The Island of Doctor Moreau, but I did read a summary before starting this, which was enough (and a choice I highly recommend). This book’s brilliance is in the way it clearly pays homage to the original while also reclaiming it to say something wholly new and also critique that work itself. Without a glimpse into that conversation, I don’t think this book would be as engaging or impactful.

Regardless though, it’s not the fastest paced, but it’s extremely atmospheric and leans into the gothic, light body horror vibes. Perfect for readers who don’t shy away from the grotesque but also don’t love full-on horror. The audiobook was also a fantastic accompaniment!

I’d be happy to see this book take the Hugo!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism and Body horror

Minor: Sexual content