Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Misery by Stephen King

49 reviews

nneka23's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

3.25

I’m glad I finished this book, but it took me a lot longer with more effort than I expected. The overall storyline is engrossing in a way that makes it hard to quit, but I definitely came close a couple times. I’m not sure why the passages from Misery’s Return needed to be included - I personally was not at all interested in reading them. I kept wanting to find out more about what’s happening to Paul, and I think sometimes that got lost in the constant inner thoughts or the excerpts from Misery’s Return. I just had a hard time fully sinking into the story. That said, it was still well-written most of the time and King definitely knows how to create an atmosphere of dread as well as tension for the reader. The last act of the book went at crazy speeds. I’m now curious to watch the movie for comparison purposes. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Cursing, Confinement, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Murder, Car accident, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Death

Minor: Racial slurs

beaniebabybecca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Confinement, Blood, Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, and Car accident

_marycappiello3's review against another edition

dark sad 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Self harm, Violence, Child death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gaslighting, Torture, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

toniw315's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• 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

This book was a disappointment. I didn’t hate it but didn’t really like it either. It takes awhile to pick up and the sections of Misery Returns were long and irrelevant to the actual plot. Very tense with well done suspense. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Physical abuse, Medical content, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Body horror, Blood, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Cursing, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Drug use, Chronic illness, and Addiction

humanhalfofachilleus's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

as with most Stephen King, it could have ended 50 pages earlier and the "creepiness" relies heavily on "gross-out" rather than true terror or horror.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Murder, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Car accident, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Torture, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Racism

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

ginniereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Dementia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Death, Dysphoria, Murder, Gore, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Eating disorder, Car accident, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit

tomellibee's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Rape and Vomit

slaywithsteph's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical trauma, Addiction, Body horror, Blood, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Dysphoria, Alcoholism, and Car accident

Moderate talk of death of infants, killing of infants

pages_in_the_dark's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Death, Cursing, Car accident, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Body horror, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Cannibalism

bella613's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

This was my first Stephen King novel (although I have seen some other movie adaptations) and… wow. Very well written. As hard as is it to listen to in some parts, it is definitely worth the read (or listen) and did not disappoint. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who likes the horror genre. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Moderate: Excrement, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Gun violence