Reviews tagging 'War'

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

25 reviews

radlizareads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and War

Moderate: Pregnancy

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I liked this! short without feeling rushed, it felt like watching a standalone episode of a very well-made miniseries. i like revenge and i love when oppressed characters get to kill bigots so lots to enjoy here! none of that “but we’d be as bad as them if we fight back” tom foolery; just desserts for the entire town! Oprah-level payback if you will 

@ Sony consider the river scene required reading for the next Venom movie pls & thx

edit: mandelo thanking joon for Indigo in the acknowledgements is so real, apobangpo

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Colonisation and War

olivecatlady's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

Content warning spoiler:

graphic monster sex out of nowhere at the end

city_girl_writer's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not what I expected but in a good way! Preferred the historical horror aspects than the trans romance but still good nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Confinement, Sexual assault, and Abortion

libraryofjazz's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and War

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

The Run-Down: The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo is an exquisitely imagined historical horror romance that delivers a gritty, feral catharsis. 

 

Review: 

Lee Mandelo has done the unimaginable with The Woods All Black. In just 150 pages, he has created an immersive, historically detailed trans romance horror story. The novella follows Leslie, a nurse from the Frontier Nursing Service assigned to provide vaccination and other health services to an isolated religious Appalachian town called Spar’s Creek. Leslie puts up with the town’s distrustful attitude toward him in order to help a young resident, Stevie, whom he recognizes as a gender- nonconforming kindred spirit. As the residents grow increasingly hostile toward Leslie and Stevie for failing to act like proper God-fearing women, Leslie finds himself embroiled in a conflict that involves forces beyond his comprehension.

 

It's rare to find a piece of queer historical fiction that does not simply transplant modern ideas about gender and queerness into a historical setting. While there is nothing inherently wrong about this approach from a storytelling perspective, it does promote a rather limited and inaccurate understanding of the past. By contrast, The Woods All Black makes a genuine attempt to reimagine queerness and gender nonconformity as its characters might have understood it. For example, the book’s protagonist identifies as a female “invert,” a sexual identity popularized in the late 1920s that in today’s understanding of gender and sexuality might be most akin to a he/him lesbian or transmasc nonbinary identity. Furthermore, Mandelo’s extensive historical research—combined with his sharp imagination— lends this book a remarkable sense of historical realism. At the same time, however, he manages to craft a story that is both affirming and relevant to the present, and modern queer readers will see parts of themselves represented in these characters. 

 

Despite the book’s short length, The Woods All Black never seems rushed or underdeveloped. On the contrary, its characters come alive on the page with remarkable depth. The steady pacing contributes to the ever-increasing narrative tension, which is released in a brutal, cathartic climax. Mandelo’s writing rejoices in a gritty, animalistic version of trans masculinity—a tender ferocity borne of a lifetime of societal oppression and constraint. The graphic nature of this book won’t be for everyone, but for those who need this narrative, it will be a blessing they didn’t know they needed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Racism, Rape, and War

Additional Content Warnings: Misgendering, war-related PTSD

amandalachelle's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement and Excrement

barometz's review

dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Deadnaming, Cannibalism, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and War

Minor: Lesbophobia

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.75

The main character, Leslie, is an invert traveling through Kentucky in the 1920s on duty as a nurse, to give vaccines and provide care around childbirth. This begins as more of a historical novel. Leslie is assigned to provide care and vaccines in a small town Appalachian. He receives unprecedented religious pushback in the town, which complicates his job and potentially his livelihood. But there are people he is determined to help before he leaves. 

The horror element slowly builds as the woods are clearly more than they seem. So much of the story culminates towards the end, making this a bit of a slower burn, but trust that it ends with a bang. 

The blurb promises "historical horror, trans romance, and bloodsoaked revenge" and most certainly delivers on all in more ways than I was anticipating (it gets gruesome and spicy, but also I can see where Madelo's writing style was impacted by the time in which he is writing.).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Rape, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

aromarrie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

honest to god, this novella did what it wanted to do and did it fantastically. the author is seriously talented in writing a really good & creepy atmosphere—i already knew that,—so i was genuinely ecstatic to relive that feeling through their eyes.

bonus points for crossing into monsterfucking territory; truly, you don’t get to see this enough in traditional publishing. but this is also just a really cathartic read….and leslie and stevie were absolutely it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Gore, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Sexual violence