Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

10 reviews

clara_groeni's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Murder, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Torture, Mental illness, and Alcohol

noranorasolosolo's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is so amazingly done. The sound design, the voice actors, the music, the narration – I’ve read all of the comics over and over and I cannot say enough good things about this adaptation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Medical content, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Mental illness

Minor: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Forced institutionalization

salie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death and Grief

sharp_d's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Blood, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Physical abuse

extinctpanda's review against another edition

Completely unnecessary and over the top sexual violence with NO plot relevance whatsoever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, Murder, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Gun violence

Minor: Incest

in the 40% I read there was necrophilia, people fucking until they died and their bodies being explained like that. Someone talking about dreaming about raping their mother. Plenty of other grossness and violence. And finally the point at which I gave up: a woman "removing her maidenhead" by injuring her vagina with a rock

fishrgreat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Torture, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Murder, and Violence

nolimalumsedheroa's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I rarely am able to stay focused enough to listen to an audio book. The Sandman, with its sound effects and full cast (kind of a modern radio play) managed to not only retain my attention, but also for the first time in years I listened to something at an almost normal speed. I want to know anything and everything about how the mind of Mr. Gaiman works. His story was absolutely enthralling 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Medical content, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Infidelity, and Grief

elthechameleon's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-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

3.0

This was a beautiful audio drama. James McAvoy's voice is perfect for Morpheus. Like some other reviewers, a lot of this content was far too graphic for me - especially as Dirk Maggs outdid himself in his soundscapes. I was far too uncomfortable throughout many episodes. Kat Dennings as Death was a *delightful* surprise. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Rape, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Confinement

kiwiknitter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

thecatsmother's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The Sandman Audible Original is a multi-cast audiobook adaptation of the graphic novel series by Neil Gaiman. It was Audible’s free book of the month recently, and covers Act 1 of a series, with Act 2 coming out soon. I’ve never been into graphic novels - I don’t think I’ve read a comic since primary school - they just don’t interest me, so I didn’t know the main character, but have seen most of the recent DC Universe movies and some of the TV series. We wanted a change from our usual thrillers for our most recent car journeys - and it certainly is different! It’s exceptionally well read by the huge cast, including Gaiman himself as The Narrator, and supported by various sound effects which complemented the voices rather than getting in the way. Overall I enjoyed it - some parts rather more than others - but definitely would’ve got more from it if I already knew the series.

During WW1, Sleep, the Lord of Dreams, who goes by multiple different names, including Morpheus, is captured by the leader of an arcane cult and kept prisoner in the mansion’s basement for 70 years, despite never ceding any of his powers. His absence leads to global consequences - including an epidemic of Sleeping Sickness, and the release of horrific Nightmares into the world. Finally Sleep escapes, but before he can restore his kingdom, he must reclaim three objects invested with his power. Over twenty chapters across three volumes, we meet characters variously affected and interconnected by Morpheus throughout history - human, deity, superhero and myth - some brief self-contained stories, some extended plot arcs, many where he appears only briefly, but all linked in some way to the world of dreams & stories.

So what did I think? Considering this isn’t really my genre and I don’t know the source material, I was still able to follow and appreciate most of this. I didn’t like all of the stories - I suppose I was expecting a more traditional narrative arc, there’s a beginning but no end as this is only Act 1 so don’t expect a conventional story structure. The first part, about Sleep’s capture and subsequent escape, was brilliant. I did NOT like the Dr Destiny chapter - too dark and nasty for me (rape, necrophilia, self-mutilation...) and found some of the random ones like Hob the immortal soldier or the African coming of age story a bit tedious and pointless. Rose Walker’s quest to find her brother and gate-crashing the serial killer convention lifted my interest back up, and I was rapt by the Cat story (of course) until the traumatic scene with the kittens 😿

The voices - including some very well known actors - were superb: James McAvoy is perfect in the lead role, and there were wonderful surprise cameos like Joanna Lumley as John Constantine’s ancestor. I’m not sure if we’ll continue to Act 2 - I’ll see if The Cats’ Father is keen, but am definitely interested to see the upcoming TV adaptation, although hope it’s not too gory - we gave up on American Gods for that reason! Recommended to fans of the series even if you don’t normally listen to Audiobooks - having the creator tell the story himself is a definite coup!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Self harm