Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Devil House by John Darnielle

28 reviews

kthealey's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Child death, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Sexism, Vomit, and Xenophobia

rystonlentil43's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I started reading in digital format and I'd already passed the section in the different font before switching to the paperback, but it does look like it would've been pretty hard to make out in that font. That aside, its presence exemplifies what I love about this book (and is crucial to the themes!). There's such a variety of textures working together to build strong, interesting ideas. (I see from the other reviews that this was misleadingly marketed as horror, like Universal Harvester... I wish that would stop happening. It's sad that people are disappointed by these great books because they were expecting something different.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

waffel113's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

“Once I started messing with the details it felt like it wouldn’t matter if I moved a few of the principal players around. Nobody cares about the actual details of anything, they just want the feeling they get when the story punches their buttons.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Gore

Moderate: Domestic abuse

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not horror but not bad. Decent writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual content, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Violence

mayajade1701's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.5

I saw someone describe this book as 'ambitious' and I agree. I was excited about this book, as I liked the others I have read by this author and the subject of this one sounded intriguing and right up my alley. However I was ultimately let down by it - i think due to some of this 'ambitious-ness' which lead me to feel like maybe I just didn't get it? 

The book is not very straightforward. And therefor not an easy read. I struggled with the way the narrative is set up and the way it jumps between stories and POVs. 

For the first 3/4ths of the book I found I really didn't want to stick with it and I just wanted to finish it and move on to something else. 

However in the last 4th I really enjoyed the shift in the narrative. I was confused at first but liked that feeling. However the realizations at the end unfolded so quickly and from an unexpected angle it felt rushed when the rest of the book  was slow and creeping. 

I think that there were possible a few too many points trying to be made in this book, from bad landlords to the ethics of true crime and even a chapter written in an old english font which made it psychically hard for me to read as well. The story is tied back several times to Arthurian legends which as a metaphor didn't totally connect for me. I felt like I was reading it too fast to make the deeper meaningful connections the author wanted me to make beyond the surface level of our 'protagonists' feeling like their own 'knights' and creating their own legend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Blood

slime_retro's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

defeating_my_demons's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, Blood, Gore, Child death, Death, and Sexual content

kleinekita's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Honestly just left me really confused. There were parts I liked quite a bit and parts a had to push myself through. Overall I don't know what it all added up to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism and Forced institutionalization

loveallthis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child death, Death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Mass/school shootings

savvy999's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Occasionally confounding, and intricately woven, the novel places a deliberate haze over the eyes of the reader, asking them to parse the morality and verity of the prosaic and lyrical content of the novel. Darnielle’s songwriting deeply influences the strength of description and scenario as well as ( I suspect) playing into the game of alternating narration that pervades the book. The novel is ultimately more meditation than horror, asking layered questions about the ethics of true crime and the mythology it creates. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Violence, and Murder