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Reviews tagging 'Body horror'
Menschenjagd by Jochen Stremmel, Stephen King, Richard Bachman, Nora Jensen
5 reviews
sighclopss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
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? No
3.5
Quick read 3.5⭐
This concept again plays on (as many of Kings works do) the age old "humans are the real monsters" trope. In a totalitarian future, society is kept in check with entertainment of human suffering (not much of a difference from what the 2020's of our current lives have to offer.) I think there's lots of good concepts in this one, and considering it was written over 40 years ago it can be eerie what elements have been prophesied in a way.
In terms of writing, it's not as waffle-ly as some of King's other works, this one definitely made a good go at an "action" genre, while still having the in-depth complex character thought that I enjoy about King's books.
This concept again plays on (as many of Kings works do) the age old "humans are the real monsters" trope. In a totalitarian future, society is kept in check with entertainment of human suffering (not much of a difference from what the 2020's of our current lives have to offer.) I think there's lots of good concepts in this one, and considering it was written over 40 years ago it can be eerie what elements have been prophesied in a way.
In terms of writing, it's not as waffle-ly as some of King's other works, this one definitely made a good go at an "action" genre, while still having the in-depth complex character thought that I enjoy about King's books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury
nadia's review against another edition
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
3.0
I spent a lot of this book bored and not caring about the main character at all...I still didn't really care about him come the end but I was more intrigued and curious to see how it all unfolded!
Also, obviously not a fan of the racial slurs used at all!
Also, obviously not a fan of the racial slurs used at all!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia
clr00's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Rape
twocents's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a very different death game story from King's other work, "The Long Walk." In "The Running Man," the United States has undergone a stark class divide, and Ben Richards is on the wrong side of that divide. He's unemployed and worse, unemployable, due to his unreasonable standards of wanting work that will, um, not kill him. His infant daughter is dying of the flu, because he can't afford the doctor visit or real medicine for her. His wife has turned to prostitution to try to make ends meet.
So Richards turns to the Games Network, which offers up as entertainment a variety of different games including watching people with cardiac problems run on a treadmill, answering trivia questions, until they have a cardiac event and die. Or another one that is named, but not described, since it seems to be as it says on the tin: swimming with crocodiles.
Although you can sign up to participate in the Games, winning money for yourself or (more likely) your surviving family, you don't actually get to pick what game you will be a contestant on. Richards wins the big one: The Running Man. The entire world is the arena, and for every hour that Richards can survive, he gets $100. If he lasts 30 days, he wins the game and gets $1 billion. There is a team of elite hunters sent to kill him, and everyone is a potential participant, as people who call in valid tips will win $100 themselves for turning Richards in, $1000 if their tip leads to his death. No contestant has ever won.
It's a much more desperate death game than "The Long Walk." It's an angry, bitter novel, rather than melancholic, and I enjoyed the different tone. The setup that non-players are not only safe from the game itself, but actively benefit from your death puts a different spin on the trope. I really enjoyed his interactions with other people, discovering what matters to others from all class levels that he hadn't considered, and finding himself surprised at who protects him and who turns on him.
So Richards turns to the Games Network, which offers up as entertainment a variety of different games including watching people with cardiac problems run on a treadmill, answering trivia questions, until they have a cardiac event and die. Or another one that is named, but not described, since it seems to be as it says on the tin: swimming with crocodiles.
Although you can sign up to participate in the Games, winning money for yourself or (more likely) your surviving family, you don't actually get to pick what game you will be a contestant on. Richards wins the big one: The Running Man. The entire world is the arena, and for every hour that Richards can survive, he gets $100. If he lasts 30 days, he wins the game and gets $1 billion. There is a team of elite hunters sent to kill him, and everyone is a potential participant, as people who call in valid tips will win $100 themselves for turning Richards in, $1000 if their tip leads to his death. No contestant has ever won.
It's a much more desperate death game than "The Long Walk." It's an angry, bitter novel, rather than melancholic, and I enjoyed the different tone. The setup that non-players are not only safe from the game itself, but actively benefit from your death puts a different spin on the trope. I really enjoyed his interactions with other people, discovering what matters to others from all class levels that he hadn't considered, and finding himself surprised at who protects him and who turns on him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Racial slurs, Racism, and Murder
pointvirgule's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing and Classism
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