Reviews tagging 'Death'

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

47 reviews

cakehatwombat's review against another edition

emotional fast-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

4.0

Gives a supernatural angle that allows for catharsis for both the characters and the audience, which I really liked.

Spoiler

They literally exorcise the demon of 'don't be gay', it's not subtle. It is satisfying, though, having something concrete they can defeat, even if they can't fix fundamentalist Christianity more broadly. They can save themselves and others from at least one horrible thing, y'know? Also all the demons horribly maim and then kill the people running the camp, so like, very affirming.

I liked Rose a lot- I always like curious characters who, like me, would click on every single object or npc in a video game to double check if it's interactable. 

OH, very important:

Spoiler

gay kids all make it out okay in the end! No dead black guy!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Vomit

Minor: Medical content and Ableism

For a book that centers around a gay conversion camp, the book doesn't talk much about the day-to-day reality or go into really intense detail about the emotional and religious abuse that happens there. Like, it obviously happens, but

Spoiler

the characters don't remember most of what happened. The part that the mc remembers clearly is being tied down and having a demon possess her, which is obviously upsetting, but

the really heavy stuff is avoided. Camps like these are obviously deeply traumatizing, and the characters in the book are clearly fucked up bc of it, but the horror of this book doesn't capitalize on (exploit is too extreme, but do you get what I mean?) the reality of places like this. The horror is supernatural and beatable. TL;DR much less intense than you would assume based on the name and premise. If you can stomach reading articles about actual gay conversion camps then this is nothing. I cannot speak to any type of response from personal experience. For the vomit, the mc

Spoiler

vomits up flies, and while it is described in detail the first time and she is very horrified by it, it happens often enough that she kinda becomes numb to it? She also discovers the cause of it, which helps her deal with it, I think. She vomits up flies bc she's possessed by a demon who is contracted to keep her from thinking gay thoughts, not bc she ingested or incubated any bugs.

Also, there are no tags for bugs or insects, which I'm surprised by? Anyway, there are definitely bugs in the book. If worms or flies are your nopes, then this book is not for you.

popsicleplease's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Body horror, Death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Car accident

arlingtonchamberofgay's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

A loose thread I couldn’t stop pulling on, Camp Damascus is a story for all the queer kids hurt by the church. We are not the monsters they make us out to be, but it doesn’t mean we can’t fight like hell to get our lives back.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, and Vomit

Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Forced institutionalization

cassandra_catastrophe's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Vomit and Car accident

philippmk's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Homophobia, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Violence, Car accident, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

kurumipanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Homophobia, Car accident, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture

ehmannky's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This book has all of the subtly of a brick being thrown through a window and I loved it. It's creepy and such an interesting and well-done use of horror to show the damage of religious trauma and its related homophobia. I was also pleasantly surprised that you don't have to spend any time in the gay conversion camp this book centers around--it's all about the aftereffects and trying to undo the damage already done, but you don't have to see Rose or any other queer person in the book actually have to go through the conversion camp experience (though there are references and slight flashbacks to the supernatural torture they go through). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Body horror

marinnelilly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Death

matthewosborne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad fast-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

3.5

Not exactly the book I thought I was getting, but a good read all the same.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia

shelvesofivy's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Vomit

Moderate: Body horror, Car accident, Gore, Medical content, Violence, Cursing, and Confinement