Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Matéria Escura by Blake Crouch

16 reviews

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

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.25

I don’t think thrillers are really for me. Or multiverse/alternate universe stories. On top of that, the characters in this book were not compelling, and their bonds to each other seemed tenuous at best. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Child death, and Drug use

Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization

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

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.

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Content Warnings

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

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

bywayof's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Drug use

Minor: Medical content, War, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Torture

nadiaherondale's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I don't even know what I read, and although the start was a bit slow and I was wary because even though I loved the Wayward Pines TV Show I had struggled trying to read the books I ended up loving whatever this thing that blew my mind and it's gonna give me nightmares and existential dread for weeks was. PS: Amanda you deserve the world. 4'75/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Stalking, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Forced institutionalization

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.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Child death, and Sexual content

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

A sci-fi thriller, this book kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. It was interesting and well-written. The story is compelling, unsettling, and fantastical. parts of the science-y description/explanation were outside my realm of comprehension but all in all this book is incredibly accessible to all readers. The chapters are really long but the writing style made the book fly by for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty

kmayatte's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Stalking

Minor: Death of parent, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content