Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Matéria Escura by Blake Crouch

29 reviews

sierrabowers's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a great science fiction story that is extremely relatable to the average reader. Have you ever wanted to change one decision that you have made and wonder what your life would be like if you had chosen differently? This book realistically answers that question through quantum mechanics and the theory of the multiverse. It sounds insane and it really is, but it also makes you think about your morals and what you would do if you were in the situation that Jason is in. If you’re a science lover and can comprehend complex situations, such as multiple versions of the same character in the same room, then go ahead and read this. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kellyisntcool's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense 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

5.0

Reminds me why sci-fi is one of the coolest genres and how much I loved reading it when I was younger.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Sexual content

stephliljazz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I loved the story line of this book. It is a definite edge of your seat not sure what's gonna happen next kind of book for the most part. I struggled getting through some of it and almost DNF it because there are several parts that get way to detailed about the physics behind what's going on and it just slowed the story way way down. Since I listened on audible I will talk about narration too. The narrator wasn't bad but I found him to be a bit monotoned. He did change voices for the different characters pretty well. With that being said I am super picky about narrators because I'm bothered by certain pitches and tones so he could be a great narrator for someone else. Over all I give 4star because there was too much of the physics in some parts that kept the storyline from progressing and I didn't find most of the physics to be important to the story. The story was awesome though the theory of there being a multiverse was just written very well. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

meat_muffin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.75

The good:  I enjoyed the UberChat.  I felt that right when that was introduced a different ending could have spawned that turned into a lighthearted rom-com and I like to imagine that.

The bad:  I knew pretty early on that this was not going to be a favorite.  I don't read a lot of thrillers in general but I enjoy sci-fi so I figured I would give it a shot.  I couldn't stand the main character.  And thus, the book was doomed in my eyes.  The pacing was jumpy, and the plot was predictable (as in, I guessed what really happened in the first chapter and the main character didn't figure it out until the ~50% mark).  There was some promise for some thoughtful introspection but the approach was heavy-handed at best.  Some of the descriptions were vivid and others were flat out whacky.

I don't know if I will try another book by the author, but I don't think I was the intended audience for this work so who knows what the future holds.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

faeriefox's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was incredible.

The worldbuilding between all of the worlds Jason went into was incredible; you really got the essence of each world from the start.

I also really loved *our* Jason. He never lost his moral compass, unlike so many other versions of him, and as a result, Daniela chose him over the others. It was so touching, too, when so many Jasons let the family go free once they knew what Daniela wanted, culminating this beautiful love story. 

I really got emotionally attached to the characters as well; I was devastated when Amanda left and constantly afraid for Charlie, Daniela, and Jason.

 

This book made me think a lot; it challenges so many ideas about life, love, identity, and choice. 

I also appreciated the fairly easy-to-understand scientific explanations; the fact that they were understandable added so much to the book, as well as just being very interesting.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, and Medical content

Minor: Mental illness and Injury/Injury detail

katiefurms's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Not only is this an incredible concept for a story, but it is so phenomenally well written that i could not put it down. Absolutely incredible book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Cannibalism, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ottercorg's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Looking for an introduction to the sci-fi genre, an Internet list pointed me to this one. 

I enjoyed the main characters and plot, felt that Crouch told the story well. The reason I've avoided sci-fi for so long is that my brain is not good at comprehending the science part. But this book made it palatable and mostly easy to understand - which made me enjoy it even more! Only a few times did risk going over my head. 

Overall, an interesting tale that kept me invested, and not just because I had nothing better to do. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

raneyak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Overall I found the story compelling and enjoyable. However, there were some moments that missed the mark throughout the book. My overall critique of the book is that much of it seemed to be trying too hard to be a good book. Certain dialogue and character choices used to convey a philosophical message or advance the plot seemed unnatural in context. In addition, the ending wrapped up a little bit too perfectly and I feel like I missed out on the emotional complexity I had anticipated going into the final scenes. 

It’s a relatively short book and contains a lot of interesting science and philosophy, and while it isn’t perfect I still enjoyed it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

clevelandbookgirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Sexual content, Alcohol, and War