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blundershelf's review
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
fast-paced
4.0
horrific
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Rape, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Outing, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Sexual content, Violence, War, Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, and Death
dezaraemd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The structure of the writing was chaotic. At times I wasn’t sure which character I was reading about. The timeline is also unclear.
The storyline was very unique and the characters were interesting. There were a lot of gory, graphic scenes that didn’t disappoint.
Overall, it was an okay read.
The storyline was very unique and the characters were interesting. There were a lot of gory, graphic scenes that didn’t disappoint.
Overall, it was an okay read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Cursing, Dysphoria, Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, War, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Murder
Moderate: Deadnaming, Drug use, Outing, Classism, Grief, Medical trauma, and Vomit
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Animal death
rustylasagna's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Slavery, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Transphobia, Rape, Trafficking, Animal death, Murder, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Outing, and Death
rhythmreads's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
So I had heard quite a bit about this book. And had recently read Hell Followed With Us, and I wanted a horror/gore read for October. So I decided to pick up Manhunt. I wanted gore, I wanted disgust, I wanted the same feelings I got from HFWU. I don’t think this is the book for that, at least it wasn’t for me.
Let me preface that as a trans person I love reading trans characters and the concept was incredibly interesting. I semi knew what I was getting into. I’d heard about this book from multiple people so I knew there was some heavy stuff in here. I knew it followed 2 trans women, a trans man, and a TERF. I knew there would be a lot of TERF shit and HOLYSHIT was there. I also knew rape was a theme and I’m glad I knew beforehand.
This is a heavy fucking book. I know it’s a commentary on TERFs and their ideologies and where they could lead in a fucked up world and that didn’t make it less fucked up. But it is a heavy fucking book and I would not recommend this to many or maybe any people if I’m being honest.
I did enjoy the book. There were funny quips and one liners, the main characters beside Ramona, had flaws but you could obviously tell were fleshed out people who were trying to live in an apocalypse and deal with their own shit along the way.
The writing was raw in its depictions of trans dysphoria and issues and a lot of trans shit. And it was an interesting look at all of it. And I enjoyed seeing into their thoughts and actions.
Ramona’s POV always pissed me off which it was supposed to I’m sure. She was the odd one out. The one obviously in the wrong and knowing it, and still making all those wrong decisions. She said she was in love and let that lover die just because. There were so many times she could have stood up, times so many people could have stood up and ended it, but they didn’t. From their safety they ignored the cries and pain of those that weren’t them and it screams of a privilege to not have to think. To be able to step away and live quietly while letting things happen because “I can’t do anything anyway.” It’s definitely a commentary on activism and it was really interesting to read, but I still didn’t sympathize.
There was a good amount in this book that was nice to read and interesting, but there was also a lot we probably could have done without. Authors can write what they want and if this is the story you want to write that’s fine, I will say though, that for a book that was only 293 pages, it didn’t need so many smut scenes. There were FIFTEEN. I annotated my book and let me tell you I love t4t smut scenes, it’s a great thing and I love to read smut in my books, but it was just SO much. By the end I was annoyed whenever a new one came up. And I wanted to be happy for the characters but it’s an apocalypse and they were so goddamn horny. It was exhausting by the end of the book. I get trying to showcase trans people and how normal it is for them to exist outside of surgeries but still, it was a lot.
And arguably I don’t think the rape scene needed to happen. It didn’t add much to the plot other than trauma to Beth and very little would have changed other than the disgust at it happening. I don’t feel it was necessary but again, traumatize your characters how you want it just felt really unnecessary to me. As we’d already been told about the horrible things the men were doing, we didn’t need front row seats, but if that was important to Beth’s character, it’s fine I just didn’t feel like it was there for anything but horror and gore. But I digress.
Teach was the head TERF and her beliefs and ideologies were horrendous. A lot of the TERFs in this book had realized after the virus had spread and men were now monsters that someone else could take over that monster slot and have the power to hurt others. I hated every time Teach would say something or monologue because it was always about how disgusting men were and the horrible things they were apparently programmed to do, while the TERFs were doing the exact same things to the trans people of the book. The horrible things they did were a power trip for most of the TERFs and it really stuck it that this is where these women wanted to be. They loved having a power they had craved before the men had turned and they just used it to hurt others because they could.
I won’t say this is a horrible book or story. There were parts I enjoyed and parts I absolutely hated. Parts that made me disgusted and parts that made me happy, but I don’t know if I’d recommend this book to anyone. It’s an interesting commentary and I won’t knock people from reading it, and I know most people who would want to, would even pick up this book, would be ready for all the shit in it.
It’s just a lot in so few pages and I’m not sure how else I’m supposed to feel about it. I wanted to love it, I wanted something different from this and it wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read and I actually finished it. It’s a horror book, and it fits its genre. It just wasn’t what I wanted it to be and there was just so much that was probably there to pad the page number, and I really wished people would have talked about their feelings and relationships instead of just having sex. There’s so much more to a relationship, even in an apocalypse then sex.
This wasn’t a fave of mine and I don’t know if I’d ever reread it, I don’t regret giving it a chance but I’d definitely not recommend unless someone really liked horror novels. If you want to pick this book up, go ahead, and try and enjoy and connect with the characters but do be mindful of the content warnings and if you don’t think you could stomach it or that it would be worth it, definitely pass this one up.
Let me preface that as a trans person I love reading trans characters and the concept was incredibly interesting. I semi knew what I was getting into. I’d heard about this book from multiple people so I knew there was some heavy stuff in here. I knew it followed 2 trans women, a trans man, and a TERF. I knew there would be a lot of TERF shit and HOLYSHIT was there. I also knew rape was a theme and I’m glad I knew beforehand.
This is a heavy fucking book. I know it’s a commentary on TERFs and their ideologies and where they could lead in a fucked up world and that didn’t make it less fucked up. But it is a heavy fucking book and I would not recommend this to many or maybe any people if I’m being honest.
I did enjoy the book. There were funny quips and one liners, the main characters beside Ramona, had flaws but you could obviously tell were fleshed out people who were trying to live in an apocalypse and deal with their own shit along the way.
The writing was raw in its depictions of trans dysphoria and issues and a lot of trans shit. And it was an interesting look at all of it. And I enjoyed seeing into their thoughts and actions.
Ramona’s POV always pissed me off which it was supposed to I’m sure. She was the odd one out. The one obviously in the wrong and knowing it, and still making all those wrong decisions. She said she was in love and let that lover die just because. There were so many times she could have stood up, times so many people could have stood up and ended it, but they didn’t. From their safety they ignored the cries and pain of those that weren’t them and it screams of a privilege to not have to think. To be able to step away and live quietly while letting things happen because “I can’t do anything anyway.” It’s definitely a commentary on activism and it was really interesting to read, but I still didn’t sympathize.
There was a good amount in this book that was nice to read and interesting, but there was also a lot we probably could have done without. Authors can write what they want and if this is the story you want to write that’s fine, I will say though, that for a book that was only 293 pages, it didn’t need so many smut scenes. There were FIFTEEN. I annotated my book and let me tell you I love t4t smut scenes, it’s a great thing and I love to read smut in my books, but it was just SO much. By the end I was annoyed whenever a new one came up. And I wanted to be happy for the characters but it’s an apocalypse and they were so goddamn horny. It was exhausting by the end of the book. I get trying to showcase trans people and how normal it is for them to exist outside of surgeries but still, it was a lot.
And arguably I don’t think the rape scene needed to happen. It didn’t add much to the plot other than trauma to Beth and very little would have changed other than the disgust at it happening. I don’t feel it was necessary but again, traumatize your characters how you want it just felt really unnecessary to me. As we’d already been told about the horrible things the men were doing, we didn’t need front row seats, but if that was important to Beth’s character, it’s fine I just didn’t feel like it was there for anything but horror and gore. But I digress.
Teach was the head TERF and her beliefs and ideologies were horrendous. A lot of the TERFs in this book had realized after the virus had spread and men were now monsters that someone else could take over that monster slot and have the power to hurt others. I hated every time Teach would say something or monologue because it was always about how disgusting men were and the horrible things they were apparently programmed to do, while the TERFs were doing the exact same things to the trans people of the book. The horrible things they did were a power trip for most of the TERFs and it really stuck it that this is where these women wanted to be. They loved having a power they had craved before the men had turned and they just used it to hurt others because they could.
I won’t say this is a horrible book or story. There were parts I enjoyed and parts I absolutely hated. Parts that made me disgusted and parts that made me happy, but I don’t know if I’d recommend this book to anyone. It’s an interesting commentary and I won’t knock people from reading it, and I know most people who would want to, would even pick up this book, would be ready for all the shit in it.
It’s just a lot in so few pages and I’m not sure how else I’m supposed to feel about it. I wanted to love it, I wanted something different from this and it wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read and I actually finished it. It’s a horror book, and it fits its genre. It just wasn’t what I wanted it to be and there was just so much that was probably there to pad the page number, and I really wished people would have talked about their feelings and relationships instead of just having sex. There’s so much more to a relationship, even in an apocalypse then sex.
This wasn’t a fave of mine and I don’t know if I’d ever reread it, I don’t regret giving it a chance but I’d definitely not recommend unless someone really liked horror novels. If you want to pick this book up, go ahead, and try and enjoy and connect with the characters but do be mindful of the content warnings and if you don’t think you could stomach it or that it would be worth it, definitely pass this one up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Sexual content, Genocide, Violence, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Medical content, Death, Body horror, Drug use, Transphobia, Torture, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Classism, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Medical content, and Excrement
upperjackpain's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Transphobia, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, and Outing
Minor: Racism, Slavery, and Alcohol
devynvictoria's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Hate crime, Outing, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Death, and Transphobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Torture, and Deadnaming
Minor: Infertility
samwescott's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
That was intense.
I will say first and quickly that this book does have an on-screen rape scene, which normally is a deal-breaker for me. In general, it's an intense book with a lot violence and hate speech, so you're gonna want to check the trigger warnings for it. I think it's worth it, but you don't wanna go in blind.
This book was just electrifying from the word go. It wrests the gender-plague concept away from mainstream cis authors and places it squarely in the hands of a cast of trans characters and allows them to roll around in what that concept could actually mean. Depending on how your gender plague works, it might affect pre-op and post-op people differently. How will it affect prepubescent children? Can hormones be synthesized and what sources can you harvest the hormones from? (spoiler alert: the answer is gross!) By not assuming a world of two biological sexes with corresponding gender presentation, it actually takes a worn-out concept and fills it with new life and complications.
The actual mood of the book is not a sterile thought exercise though - it is a filthy, raw examination of the inner lives of people living in this world. There are multiple POV characters, but most of them are trans and it really grabs the opportunity to wrestle with self-hatred and regular hatred, with desire and disgust, and how often those things are deeply intertwined. It was often pretty hard to read, with characters spewing hate speech and committing horrible acts of violence. But it also gives characters the opportunity to act on desire and lust and love and intimacy in some really beautiful ways. The whole outside world is very on the nose and over the top, but the inner lives are nuanced and complex.
The one complaint I did have is that the pacing was occasionally a little weird. I'm not actually sure how long of a time span the books takes place in? It could have been weeks and it could have been months or years, I'm honestly not sure. There were some scene jumps that I kinda lost track of and I wasn't always sure where specific characters were and how they got there. I do listen exclusively to audiobooks (the narrator was amazing btw), so it's made a little harder by not being about to flip back a page and double check without losing your place, but I think it might just be that this author isn't really driven by exposition. Not a huge deal, but it did disrupt my reading experience a bit.
So, yeah. Raunchy, gross, filthy, painful, exhilarating, funny, biting, and hot. It's a book dialed up to 11 on pretty much every front, so know that going in and enjoy the ride. It also feels very honest and sympathetic with no sugar-coating on a single page. I do recommend it with the caveat that you take care of yourself first, especially trans readers who may not want to engage with that much hate speech in their recreational reading time.
Terfs are the explicit villains, also, so expect some review-bombing on this one.
I will say first and quickly that this book does have an on-screen rape scene, which normally is a deal-breaker for me. In general, it's an intense book with a lot violence and hate speech, so you're gonna want to check the trigger warnings for it. I think it's worth it, but you don't wanna go in blind.
This book was just electrifying from the word go. It wrests the gender-plague concept away from mainstream cis authors and places it squarely in the hands of a cast of trans characters and allows them to roll around in what that concept could actually mean. Depending on how your gender plague works, it might affect pre-op and post-op people differently. How will it affect prepubescent children? Can hormones be synthesized and what sources can you harvest the hormones from? (spoiler alert: the answer is gross!) By not assuming a world of two biological sexes with corresponding gender presentation, it actually takes a worn-out concept and fills it with new life and complications.
The actual mood of the book is not a sterile thought exercise though - it is a filthy, raw examination of the inner lives of people living in this world. There are multiple POV characters, but most of them are trans and it really grabs the opportunity to wrestle with self-hatred and regular hatred, with desire and disgust, and how often those things are deeply intertwined. It was often pretty hard to read, with characters spewing hate speech and committing horrible acts of violence. But it also gives characters the opportunity to act on desire and lust and love and intimacy in some really beautiful ways. The whole outside world is very on the nose and over the top, but the inner lives are nuanced and complex.
The one complaint I did have is that the pacing was occasionally a little weird. I'm not actually sure how long of a time span the books takes place in? It could have been weeks and it could have been months or years, I'm honestly not sure. There were some scene jumps that I kinda lost track of and I wasn't always sure where specific characters were and how they got there. I do listen exclusively to audiobooks (the narrator was amazing btw), so it's made a little harder by not being about to flip back a page and double check without losing your place, but I think it might just be that this author isn't really driven by exposition. Not a huge deal, but it did disrupt my reading experience a bit.
So, yeah. Raunchy, gross, filthy, painful, exhilarating, funny, biting, and hot. It's a book dialed up to 11 on pretty much every front, so know that going in and enjoy the ride. It also feels very honest and sympathetic with no sugar-coating on a single page. I do recommend it with the caveat that you take care of yourself first, especially trans readers who may not want to engage with that much hate speech in their recreational reading time.
Terfs are the explicit villains, also, so expect some review-bombing on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Cannibalism, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, War, Outing, Dysphoria, Rape, Deadnaming, Cursing, Hate crime, and Violence
Minor: Toxic friendship
redkeys's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Death, Excrement, Gore, Murder, Suicide, Transphobia, Ableism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Hate crime, Outing, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Body horror, Dysphoria, Genocide, Sexual assault, Torture, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Deadnaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Vomit
sarah_bookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a fantastic journey - exactly the body horror, genre-bending, societal commentary I was looking for. No holds barred, as you can see by the trigger warnings, and the rawness of all the characters just blew me away. This is a trans book for trans (horror) readers, and nothing I could say could top this review by trans author Lee Mandelo: https://www.tor.com/2022/02/24/book-reviews-manhunt-by-gretchen-felker-martin/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Outing, Murder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Dysphoria, Death, Cursing, Cannibalism, Body shaming, Body horror, Biphobia, Torture, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Deadnaming
shirtypantser's review
dark
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? No
3.75
Overall, a decently written, gory, post-apocalypse romp in the woods. The writing was proficient though I think it could have been a bit longer. Parts felt rushed. Organization was rocky: lots of jumping around between characters, to the point where it was difficult to keep track of who was who. Due to writing style, sometimes it was difficult to figure out where we were or who we were with until a few paragraphs in. This is fine if you aren't jumping back and forth between three groups and eight people. It gets confusing. This is pretty gory in general, some sex, and the author most definitely has a spitting fetish. (No shame, just observation.) One of the main characters is alright at first but fast becomes very unlikely. Her only redeeming quality is that good people love her, but I could never figure out WHY they did. She was beautiful and such an ugly little shit. She dies. Everyone is sad and will miss her dismissiveness and people-using ways so, so much.
There are some very poignant observations amidst the violence and gore. I look forward to reading more from this author.
There are some very poignant observations amidst the violence and gore. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual content, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, and Outing
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Bullying, War, Torture, and Suicide
Minor: Self harm and Xenophobia