Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

23 reviews

swapacoinforafish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I enjoyed this book very much. The story was gripping and the writing very succinct. I was invested every step of the way and really enjoyed the range of characters.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Cannibalism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Torture

irishgypsie's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Blood

elenikin's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

It was a little slow to get into but then came together more quickly towards the end. Interesting to follow the characters use psychology to piece together the clues to who the serial killer was, especially during the 1890s. Interesting mix of history, crime, and psychology. Well written, but gruesome. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Murder, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, and Excrement

Moderate: Animal cruelty

that_bookworm_guy's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a dark story that has a pot of descriptions and explanation of the plot and the history. I've read reviews that have mentioned it's a lot of description and details, but I absolutely love that

The story is long but doesn’t feel as long as it looks. I was a little intimated by the length but it feels shorter than it is. 

I really enjoyed this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Vomit, Body horror, Medical content, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Sexual content, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

katielizroy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

A super compelling plot but the writing style reads a bit slow. Great book for those interested in old New York City though a lot of the details throughout are a bit tough to read

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Stalking, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Gore, Pedophilia, Blood, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, and Death

organchordsandlightning's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

An absolutely compelling mystery of impressive historical depth. The cast of characters is fairly large, particularly on the investigative team, but each voice is entirely unique and I found each to be a character that I could easily root for. Carr's background in scholarship really shines in The Alienist with the sheer depth of detail written into the story - and the story itself is compelling, dark and gruesome. The mystery unfolds at a city-wide level and you can really feel the different currents of the city pushing against it.

While occasionally the actual mystery-solving portion labors against itself, it really doesn't take away from the core drive of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Sexual assault, Murder, and Gore

ezahn17's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Racism and Police brutality

jmross10's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The book was a bit drawn out.

The strongest part for me was the use of history to inform the story, particularly the criminology aspect. It was interesting to see how the characters drew certain conclusions based on early studies and new practices. I especially liked that they tried (at least one) scientific principle that had no real basis. It shows the trial and error aspect of research which suits the subject matter. 

It’s not a fast read by any means but it was an interesting one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Death, Homophobia, Animal death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Racial slurs, Gore, and Mental illness

Moderate: Excrement, Police brutality, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief

aileena99's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, Murder, Transphobia, Homophobia, Child abuse, Racism, and Pedophilia

carrionkid's review against another edition

2.5

Well that sure was a novel

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Racial slurs