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pedanther's reviews
383 reviews
3.25
There are some good works in here; on the whole, my experience was that the more successful were the short parodies that didn't outstay their welcome, and the longer pastiches that were trying for some degree of being a worthwhile story in their own right. Several of the more successful pastiches are detective stories, including the Father Brown story "The Spear of the Sun" and the Sherlock Holmes story "The Repulsive Story of the Red Leech"; perhaps the form imparts some extra degree of discipline. The Lovecraftian pastiche, "Out of Space, Out of Time", is also not bad, though the title makes it sound more parodic than it actually is and it suffers a bit from being more interested in its Big Idea than in the plot and characters. The collection ends strong with the Nero Wolfe parody "If Looks Could Kill", which is both a reasonably satisfying mystery and genuinely funny, allowing me to part on good terms with a collection that, by that point, I was pretty glad to be moving on from.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Abortion, Gaslighting, and War
- 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
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Classism
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Violence
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Suicide, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Abandonment
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism