Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

5 reviews

brioches22's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

nic1894's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I really like the writing style and I would read more of this author's work. It was also fantastically tense and really interesting concept.
SPOILERS
However, there were some issues with the pacing, plot and characters. The pacing dragged at points. It felt like there were too many plot points, with some being underdeveloped and others over. The potential body horror of the suit, the spores and the tunneler was missed. The capitalist commentary was interesting, but again underdeveloped. What the main issue was that it felt like the author didn't truly understand how terrible Em is. Lots of potential and good writing style, lots of missed opportunities.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

quetzel90's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

illegibility's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My first read of the year and my first review on this site is really starting things off with a bang. This book is the slow-paced, high-stakes, atmospheric WLW speculative horror I've been craving, and I consumed it in an afternoon while waiting for my chickpeas to soak. I've been fascinated by caves and the secrets they hold since I watched the relevant Jacob Geller video. The idea of being trapped so near yet alienated from the sunlit world is such a rich vein (pun intended) for horror to explore, and this book executed that creeping dread incredibly well. Also, kudos to the author for being a fellow anthro student.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Medical content

moderate?: human remains; amputation; minor: worms; be very cautious if claustrophobic/bathophobic