lpogo16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story could have been edited down. There’s a lot that happens for the shock value or to make comments about other characters.
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Cannibalism, Confinement, Violence, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
Spores, Mushrooms, Fungusjuledebaum2's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Alcoholism
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, and War
skywhales's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
but. i am always a sucker for Getting Creative With It.
see now this isn't the only zombie story to take the route it does (and i mean come on, cordyceps is like Made for this kinda shit. right up there with chronic wasting disease on the "wouldn't it suck like so bad if humans could get this?" chart) but this was a few years back now so i'm willing to assume it was quite novel at the time and for me, a zombie noob, it's still quite novel now. though i know the last of us did something similar because i heard about the last of us everywhere. and i still liked it! especially That Bit at the end. even if i kind of predicted the twist regarding melanie and the other kids being a new kind of zombie.
characters were...well i liked the women the most but isn't that usually a given. melanie was good. i enjoy precocious kids especially if they're somehow Important but can't fully grasp the how or why of it until they start using it to their benefit. helen was fun, even if her whole "i'm trying to stay detached" chapter at the beginning felt kind of pointless, especially considering it never became relevant again. why couldn't she just genuinely be the Fun Teacher who cares about the kids a little too much? it felt so pointless and weird. but whatever. dr. caldwell is always a character archetpye i enjoy at the very least because they're just fun to read about. yay fucked up scientists yay!
Spoiler
her reaction to her blood poisoning and her death was very fitting for her and i liked that she stayed true to her character till the end.Spoiler
any of the "romantic" bits between him and helen made me roll my eyes SO hard.i liked the beginning and ending of the book the most. still don't really think apocalypse fiction is for me, for a multitude of reasons, but i probably enjoyed this more than i'd enjoy most of it. not much else to say--i've read better, but i've read much, much worse.
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Gun violence, Violence, and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Gore, and Medical content
blackcoffeedaydreams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Death, Child abuse, Torture, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Gun violence, Child death, and Violence
tixhna_mxrie's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Body horror, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Gun violence
blewballoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Spoiler
The army guy's having unpleasant fixations on sexualizing women. I really hated reading those parts, they added nothing to the plot and made the characters voicing them seem excessively stupid.Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual content
prufrockpreptooth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Spoiler
Et presque, Caldwell a fini par être le personnage qui j'ai préféré (et aussi, détesté, faut pas se leurrer) le plus !Graphic: Child death, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Alcohol, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: War, Grief, and Genocide
etmetmetm's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
- Incredibly tense and sad scenes
- Good pacing and build up that doesn't feel anticlimactic or too regular
- World building spoilers:
Spoiler
The best take on a zombie apocalypse I've engaged with- Characters are both likeable and unlikeable because of their flaws
- What it alludes to at the end is a bit confusing, but it doesn't change much and was still sarisfying
Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Gun violence, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Suicide
unboxedjack's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Violence, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Medical content, Murder, Cannibalism, Child death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness