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cnossek's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
weirdest episode of MILF Island ever.
Either a strong 3 or a weak 4, but I’m feeling generous today so we’ll go with a 4.
Either a strong 3 or a weak 4, but I’m feeling generous today so we’ll go with a 4.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
rothcoe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, and Death
calliereece's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
TW!! (SA/rape;violence;gore)
If this review doesn't fully explain my issues with this book for you see brightbeautifulthings' review, I think they do a great job explaining exactly why what's in this book is a problem and is not "just horror"
....I love the stuck-on-an-island trope. I live for that crap-which is why I was so disappointed in this book. It had SO MUCH potential.
pros:
The castaway trope and (some of) the male characters; what can I say I'm a sucker for the trope and all but a few of the male characters I actually liked some. In terms of the female characters it didn't feel like they were written well and were very much written from the male gaze, especially because the fact that one of the characters is sexy, flirtatious, and all the men are obsessed with her is written more times than I can count on two hands.
the writing; despite my issues with this book it is written generally well with good word choice and I enjoyed the writing style. I think it was thought through and felt like generally a decently well-crafted story.
now...the many cons
There is a point in the book in which Stephan, says the N word. Obviously the other character in the scene was appalled and called him a "racist" and "asshole". This felt like it was included just to prove he was a jerk but we already knew that. We KNEW he was an asshole so this just felt really unnecessary to include when it didn't really add anything to the character.*TW beastiality* In the same category there is a point in which there is an entire conversation about how this guy "fucked a chicken" on a dare-yes, you read that right. This is only mentioned one other time as blackmail-ish and never is it even referenced that he is a bad person later in the book so I just don't understand why on earth this felt necessary.
(TW SA and Rape) In the book there are some gory, and scary parts yes. and the creatures themselves are scary. But the main climax and the "scariest", most disturbing part of the book uses the idea of rape. Yes, in the context of the story the tribe is in need of new members of the gene pool so it does "make sense" but in terms of reading (In comparison to say, the midsommar movie, which, while I still don't like rape as a plot device, is done in a way in which that is not the entire topic of the story. There is way more to the cult that makes it scary-other than just rape; i.e. the drugging, the rituals, etc. There is a way to make a horror story have rape and not make it the entire subject of the horror in the novel- this novel fails to do that.)- I'm not a writer but there are more creative things you could've done that doesn't make the reading uncomfortable (in the worst way) and that feels significantly more gross, than disturbing or scary.
I originally gave this a 2 star review but I can't, in good conscious, do that- 1 star
In conclusion, the writer and the book itself could've been great, and the writing was "good"; but the topics and the use of rape and the random uses of the n word cheapened the book and made it really unenjoyable.
If this review doesn't fully explain my issues with this book for you see brightbeautifulthings' review, I think they do a great job explaining exactly why what's in this book is a problem and is not "just horror"
....I love the stuck-on-an-island trope. I live for that crap-which is why I was so disappointed in this book. It had SO MUCH potential.
pros:
The castaway trope and (some of) the male characters; what can I say I'm a sucker for the trope and all but a few of the male characters I actually liked some. In terms of the female characters it didn't feel like they were written well and were very much written from the male gaze, especially because the fact that one of the characters is sexy, flirtatious, and all the men are obsessed with her is written more times than I can count on two hands.
the writing; despite my issues with this book it is written generally well with good word choice and I enjoyed the writing style. I think it was thought through and felt like generally a decently well-crafted story.
now...the many cons
There is a point in the book in which Stephan, says the N word. Obviously the other character in the scene was appalled and called him a "racist" and "asshole". This felt like it was included just to prove he was a jerk but we already knew that. We KNEW he was an asshole so this just felt really unnecessary to include when it didn't really add anything to the character.*TW beastiality* In the same category there is a point in which there is an entire conversation about how this guy "fucked a chicken" on a dare-yes, you read that right. This is only mentioned one other time as blackmail-ish and never is it even referenced that he is a bad person later in the book so I just don't understand why on earth this felt necessary.
(TW SA and Rape) In the book there are some gory, and scary parts yes. and the creatures themselves are scary. But the main climax and the "scariest", most disturbing part of the book uses the idea of rape. Yes, in the context of the story the tribe is in need of new members of the gene pool so it does "make sense" but in terms of reading (In comparison to say, the midsommar movie, which, while I still don't like rape as a plot device, is done in a way in which that is not the entire topic of the story. There is way more to the cult that makes it scary-other than just rape; i.e. the drugging, the rituals, etc. There is a way to make a horror story have rape and not make it the entire subject of the horror in the novel- this novel fails to do that.)- I'm not a writer but there are more creative things you could've done that doesn't make the reading uncomfortable (in the worst way) and that feels significantly more gross, than disturbing or scary.
I originally gave this a 2 star review but I can't, in good conscious, do that- 1 star
In conclusion, the writer and the book itself could've been great, and the writing was "good"; but the topics and the use of rape and the random uses of the n word cheapened the book and made it really unenjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Gore, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual violence
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