Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

774 reviews

ldyb's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Things to know: this book is satire & commentary. Never in my life has it been this clear! I found several of the juxtaposed phrases to be so CLEAR that I highlighted them. I hope no one reads this book at face value - there is absolutely something pointed about almost every sentence, every chapter, every character. 

TW - In addition, there is gore, there is sexual predation and assault against women and children, there is suicide and death. A lot of this is graphically described, which is rarely necessary, and remains the flaw of the horror category. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

heeeyrobin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Great pacing, very tense and comedic. A horror centred around 80's housewives and their own personal strife whilst trying to deal with supernatural horrors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Rape, and Blood

Minor: Racism

olgawritesthings's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide attempt

kayla_kamldecker's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• 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

3.75

This book cleverly combined horror, suspense, humor, and social commentary. I was surprised to learn that the author is a white man as this book directly addresses the way white people dismiss and take advantage of black people, the way men dismiss and take advantage of women, and the way money rules all. 

Unfortunately the first half of the book was incredibly slow and difficult for me to get through. The book picked up more around the 60% mark. The pacing was uneven, and many scemes/chapters were superfluous. This might be a good book to study in an English class or discuss in a book club, but I likely will not read it again. 

I think this book would be excellent adapted to the big screen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pedophilia

jenn_amanda's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

dreamofbookspines's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

4.0

Quite gross at times but another banger from Hendrix. I quite like the subtle race and class tensions he managed to weave throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexism, and Blood

elpis_psyche's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Forced institutionalization

mmelibertine's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This took a while to get going - about 11 chapters, for me - but then it picks up steam and never slows down. I was riveted. 

I appreciate the care shown to the intersections of marginalizations. It bluntly shows how white supremacy damages everyone to varying degrees, even those who uphold it, and how thoughtlessly it's upheld by those of us who benefit from it. It never punches down at the marginalized trying to survive under the bootheel of white supremacy, and it doesn't excuse or let off easily those acting within it, even the well intentioned or ignorant. 

And it's a damn fine horror story, too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

jules_farkas's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Blood

Minor: Domestic abuse

fiona_farrell's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Dementia, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Animal death and Abortion