Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

17 reviews

turtle_puff95's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I think having watched the TV show first both helped and hindered my reading experience. I'm usually one to read the book first and then pick out how the TV shows or movies for the plot wrong. I think on this case though, it helped because if I had just picked this up and started reading it, I'm not sure I would have finished it. The deaths were brutal, and to children no less. Not really a subject I read often. If I hadn't already known what was going to happen, I could have seen me dnfing this book.
Now I do think it slightly hindered my experience because I kept thinking of the show and wondering why they added certain things that was not in the book.

The man with the silver teeth in the show is obviously a red herring meant to make us think he's the killer. Such a man wasn't in the book at all. Also, the last boy they managed to save in the show was Joseph, the boy Moore had befriended. In the book, he's killed and sent to Moore in a sack 😰

I still finished this rather quickly and the story kept me listening, but I think I listen to things faster the more macabre they are. It's my way of getting them over with faster.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Stalking, Bullying, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Racial slurs

that_bookworm_guy's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is a dark story that has a pot of descriptions and explanation of the plot and the history. I've read reviews that have mentioned it's a lot of description and details, but I absolutely love that

The story is long but doesn’t feel as long as it looks. I was a little intimated by the length but it feels shorter than it is. 

I really enjoyed this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Vomit, Body horror, Medical content, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Sexual content, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

wanderlustsleeping's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious medium-paced

3.75

Very glad I finally read this one! Took me back to that forever fascinating to me intersection of philosophy, science, and psychology. I absolutely love the history of those three, particularly in their foundations of past. I particularly loved the breaking down of theories, and how the main characters decided their next steps along the way.

I had no idea going into it just how much history would be involved, and it was formative and delightful, without being too long, or droll. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence and Pedophilia

ezahn17's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Racism and Police brutality

jmross10's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

The book was a bit drawn out.

The strongest part for me was the use of history to inform the story, particularly the criminology aspect. It was interesting to see how the characters drew certain conclusions based on early studies and new practices. I especially liked that they tried (at least one) scientific principle that had no real basis. It shows the trial and error aspect of research which suits the subject matter. 

It’s not a fast read by any means but it was an interesting one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Death, Homophobia, Animal death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Racial slurs, Gore, and Mental illness

Moderate: Excrement, Police brutality, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief

meowster18's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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: Child death, Animal cruelty, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Emotional abuse, Blood, Transphobia, Child abuse, Animal death, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Body horror, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Ableism, Racism, Body shaming, and Misogyny

avareadsoccasionally's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Started slow, the world building and establishing the time period and setting was dull and packed into the beginning. However, the middle and end were really interesting and compelling. A good murder mystery read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Medical content

clemencepct's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Rape, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Gore

Moderate: Sexism, Excrement, Racism, and Homophobia

acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

triciam's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Homophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Grief