Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

51 reviews

saskiajva's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter. I love the concept and the plot, the whacky and interesting characters you meet, and the detailed world building. It’s often formulaic but it’s a formula i love dearly. This book is fast paced, and occasionally left me wishing the author used more show-don’t-tell, however it was typically the gorier parts that weren’t shown so for many readers I imagine it’s appreciated. There were even a few key moments that happen fully off page, and as someone who loves big epics with intense battles and mind games, i was left wanting more.

Even with these faults, I ended up plowing through this in just a couple days and am excited for book 2 and 3. I highly recommend this for fans of the Hunger Games and anyone who loves world building that features the cruelest of humanity and those moments that make you go “holy shit, that’s messed up”. The audiobook narrator also does a great job, though there was at least one line i couldn’t understand what he said even after rewinding, and it was hard to tell who was talking on occasion, but overall it did not take away from my enjoyment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, Death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, War, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Grief, Murder, Blood, Classism, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Gore

Moderate: Rape and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Misogyny

abitterknitter's review against another edition

I just could not care enough about the characters to keep going. It was all just violence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Slavery, Suicide, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Cursing, Death, Racism, Murder, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Body horror, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Vomit, Addiction, and Alcohol

mirandyli's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is Brave New World meets Hunger Games, with way more oppression. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Grief, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War

baileyisbookish's review against another edition

I really wanted to like this because I thought the premise was interesting. I did enjoy it up to a point. But the main character became so uninteresting and hard to be in the thoughts of that I found myself dragging near the end. I had four chapters left before I DNF’d. 

I was also disturbed by the author’s use of SA and misogyny as plot points. It is one thing to include these serious, traumatic and triggering topics as a way to explore their impact upon individuals and societies and have readers empathize with what this experience does to you. It is quite another to include this topic solely for world building or moving a plot along (violence against female characters in order to benefit the male characters? really?). That is a practice in writing that needs to be left behind. 

This had a lot of potential for me to enjoy, and I just didn’t. I was disappointed. I hope the author can learn from the feedback he is receiving from the millions of women who love to read sci fi and fantasy stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Body horror

auniverseinside's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Body horror, Gore, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Cannibalism

okayyyanna's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Body horror

Minor: Rape

jenmarie11's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Violence, War, Colonisation, Cursing, Child abuse, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Gore, Torture, and Death

casualk's review against another edition

funny

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Sexism, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and War

Minor: Mental illness, Ableism, and Fatphobia

oddpilot97's review against another edition

HELP, why did this get so insanely boring in the middle.

It’s all dudes running around a forest trying to do violence and i can’t tell any of them apart and i don’t care about what’s happening.

I trudged through an hour of blahhhhh before sadly giving up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Violence, Body horror, and Sexism

qgg's review against another edition

4.5

What I find interesting about reading YA dystopian fiction in my 40’s is the parallels that can be drawn to systemic failures in today’s society. I might not pin all of our hopes on the shoulders of one teen, but the passion and desire to shift the paradigm is pretty universal in new generations. 

The story in Red Rising is far more complex than Hunger Games (the book this one seems most often compared to) if you ask me. Darrow has grown older than his actual years in hunger and want, but the betrayal of reality is sharp. Eo’s dream cut deep and it’s felt through the writing. He’s not confused in a love triangle for 3 books. And the systemic imbalance of power spans not a continent but a freaking solar system. The body modifications and technology are not for fashion but for brute force (plus unattainable beauty standards). 

And the institute or “school” that is referenced is unlike any seen before in YA books. This is closer to Game of Thrones—gore, piss, filth, and r*pe off scene. When “students” sometimes wear animal carcasses before battle, you can’t compare the book to others out there. 

The audiobook is truly excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, War, Body horror, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Violence