Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Matéria Escura by Blake Crouch

11 reviews

rachelcg's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Gore

Moderate: Terminal illness and Violence

isacarvalho91's review

adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident, Confinement, Grief, and Kidnapping

eatingbrains'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.

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Content Warnings

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

keen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Kidnapping

Minor: Abortion

ellie_the_banshee's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Stalking, Terminal illness, Abortion, and Alcohol

corirarrick2's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Cursing, Grief, Blood, Death, and Murder

Minor: Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Medical content

joshuas_space's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Stalking

Moderate: Terminal illness, Gore, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Torture, and Sexual content

whatathymeitwas's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Well that hit like a truck full of bricks. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Stalking, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Child death, Cursing, Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Terminal illness

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

4.5

A brilliantly plotted science-fiction thriller which is mind-bending while being surprisingly profound and grounded. It is a story about choices, regrets and the fundamentals of one's identity. What makes "us" really "us"? Are we the sum total of our choices or do other constituents play a role in defining our true self?
The book was suspenseful with an interesting concept and loveable protagonists - it has everything a great thriller should have (maybe except for surprising plot twists; I found them all a little bit too foreseeable). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Stalking, Grief, and Terminal illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Child death

kendallreadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent and Medical content