Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher

13 reviews

storyorc's review against another edition

dark funny sad medium-paced

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

4.0

What Moves the Dead slots in neatly between Mexican Gothic and Dracula in the Something in This Spooky House is Fucking With My Friend genre. Would LOVE to see it get the limited series treatment in a few years.

The characters are the stars of this show, with Easton and Ms. Potter shining brightest. They aren't even new concepts - ka is a roughish ex-soldier and she is a chronically underestimated spinster respectively - but they feel fresh, immediate, and funny. I'd love to hang out with them. Angus was a bit too reliant on stereotypes but I was pleased how the resident American, Denton, both embodied and rose above his.

The setting carries enough hinted-at depth to sustain a whole series. It overshadowed the plot a few times, but rightfully so. The late 1800s of this world are just different enough to spark curiosity while still being able to leverage the very real weariness of war needed to sell the veteran characters. I at times felt like I was reading War & Peace through the narrator of Slaughterhouse 5. Gallacia was my favourite invented nation of course, conjuring up a ridiculous amount of charm for a people that seemed so stubbornly hopeless, and I am distraught that I can't visit and stumble over their idiosyncratic pronouns for myself.

My issues with the plot are:

1. Too much dramatic irony between what the reader immediately gathers and what Easton believes for most of the book.
2. We miss out on seeing Easton at kan full strength because others withhold information from kan too long for tenuous reasons.
3. The end was slightly too easy for my tastes. There was a beautiful piece of suspense but then it was over while I was still expecting the dramatic final confrontation.

Finally, I congratulate Kingfisher on keeping the book no longer than it needed to be for the shape of its plot. I stand a good chance of re-reading this one.

(PS - Enjoyers of this novel should also check out Annihilation, though it takes place in a swamp rather than a house.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Body horror

Moderate: War

Minor: Misogyny and Transphobia

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

This novella is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher and follows the same broad strokes of that story's plot. This is a horror story and does have some creepy parts, but there's an overall cheerful tone to most of it that makes it a quick easy read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Animal death

Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Gore, Alcohol, Death, Injury/injury detail, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Minor: Transphobia, Drug use, Misogyny, War, Vomit, Violence, and Suicide

boglord's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Medical content, and Body horror

Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, and Death

Minor: Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

freddybingsu's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Gore, and War

Minor: Suicide and Misogyny

vaguely_pink's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Transphobia, War, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, and Vomit

pvbobrien's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal death, and Body horror

Moderate: Medical content, Misogyny, Violence, Death, Injury/injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, War, Transphobia, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

ninjamuse's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, and Body horror

Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Misogyny and War

schnaucl's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It wasn't for me and that's okay.   I haven't read the story it's based on, The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe Short Story, but I suspect I wouldn't care for the original either. 

There were things I really liked.  The characters were compelling, particularly Easton and Ms. Potter.   

I would have loved to learn even more about Gallacia. I think the idea of a country with seven sets of pronouns, including one reserved for inanimate objects, one for priests and prepubescent children, one for soldiers and one exclusively for God is fascinating.   And I love the detail about the slight hesitation before using what we would consider traditional pronouns for a child getting a spy caught.  (It has no bearing on the story, it's just  a detail about the history of the country).  I really want a story set in Gallacia some day.

I also liked the doctor, August, and Hob, of course.  

The illustration of the hare in the end papers was pretty cool, too.

Anyway, I don't think it's a book problem, I think it's a me problem. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Terminal illness, Body horror, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: War, Misogyny, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Sexism, Vomit, Alcohol, and Gore

lavenderzoey's review

dark fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Body horror

Moderate: Suicide, War, and Misogyny

Minor: Transphobia

leanne_miron's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Murder, Suicide, Grief, War, and Misogyny