Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

44 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Medical content, Gaslighting, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Murder, Abandonment, Vomit, and Classism

Minor: Suicide and Excrement

Nonconsensual drugging, loss of bodily autonomy. Overdose. Hallucinations, paranoia, surveillance, unreality. Descriptions of bodies in various states of decay. Limb loss.

vasha's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-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

A book for October? The Luminous Dead has ghosts, sort of (their exact nature is unclear), and they are definitely the scary sort, not ones you could have a romance with — nor, friendly ancestors in the tradition of Dia de los Muertos. This is a science-fiction suspense/horror novel about a weeks-long solo descent into a cave that has already killed many — but although dangers and discomforts take a toll on Gyre, the explorer, she’s ultimately less threatened by those than by the mental pressure of having no one to talk to but her one remote-linked handler (one! when it’s normally a team — and why? that turns out to be an important question). Gyre has past issues with abandonment and isolation, and it turns out her employer/handler, Em, is even more emotionally damaged, and has made bad choices that got people killed — they have their figurative ghosts to deal with… is Gyre seeing literal ones too? Em and Gyre struggle with each other, and bond strongly, and it feels like romantic love to them. It’d take a dedicated romance believer to think they’d really be good for each other as a couple after the end of the book. I have seen a remarkable number of long and meaty reviews for this novel, meaning it makes people want to ponder, and write about their ponderings. I'm personally not sure it's as deep as all that; could have been sharpened up with more psychological and sociopolitical acuity (and also would have benefited from being a hundred pages shorter). But worth reading, absolutely.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Confinement, and Grief

Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Death, and Cursing

sargasso_c's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The writing was very good, but as a whole the book rambled. It would start threads, abandon them for chapters and chapters, and then hurriedly try to tie them up when the main character was nearing the natural end of their journey. Contradictingly, some major plot points were not foreshadowed properly.

Even so - the writing style was quite enjoyable and this isn't at all bad for a debut novel.

The wlw representation was extremely satisfying to read, and I'm delighted that none of the conflicts centered around the queerness of the main characters.

I'm interested in reading more work from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Mental illness, Body horror, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Vomit

Minor: Gaslighting

femme_pages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I can’t even describe how much I loved this book!!
I didn’t actually have high expectations for this, because I read a lot of reviews, that the story was dragging and boring. 
But actually, I think, the length of this book is perfect. The reader is supposed to feel the same as Gyre; in this case stuck in an scary and deathly Cave System. As the book advanced I could feel myself sucked into it, and nearing the end, I too, was confused as to what was real, and what not. 
I could genuinely feel Gyres fear and her mental health spiralling in this claustrophobic environment, and I just loved reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement

motaki's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

The atmosphere and the premise were great, I liked this book even if its pace dragged a little bit much and Gyre was one of the most unlikeable MCs I've ever read. 
I think it was one third longer than it should have been 

I know the author decided to go heavy on repetition for that "she is spiraling so bad" effect but all those dialogues and allucination just made it harder to sympathise with Gyre.
I can't stand indecisive people IRL, that's why her incessant doubts and back and forth to act one way or another left me frustrated.

Without those issues it would have been a definite 5 star read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

kscallahan's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical content and Murder

Main character is forcibly/non-consentually drugged multiple times and is manipulated and bribed by the woman who she is working for. The woman is her only contact with the outside world for a long time, is very controlling

and has caused others to die for her own gain. The two women enter a romantic relationship at the end of the book

. The main character also stops being able to trust her senses as the book progresses and is unable to determine how much she can trust herself and the woman she works for

inamerata's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

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

5.0

Is it creepy or wet? It's a good book.
 
This is a new favorite and I bought my own copy as soon as I returned the library's. 

Also, the author’s playlist is great and lovely, but I do need to add my personal anthem for this is Sum 41’s In Too Deep. I imagine little AMVs in my head every time it comes on the radio. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Medical content

_sappho_wannabe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Confinement

fictionalportal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Coming back to add to this review almost eight months after reading the book because I still think about this story. It's an absolutely haunting meditation on grief and the havoc it can wreak on the human psyche. Safe to say I never left the cave besties <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

boglord's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement

Moderate: Gaslighting, Colonisation, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis