Reviews with content warning for Dysphoria - The Woods All Black

Reads more like a novella-length short story. Subject matter qualifies it for horror/supernatural, but not overall a scary/spooky read in that regard, as that element is largely just hinted at in the background for the first three quarters, while the primary source of tension is the protagonist being alone in an isolated community that treats him with hostility, and the implicit threat of real-world danger that accompanies that.

Content Warnings

ethana's review

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

puncturing_plotlines's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

scramuel058's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

sheriffrockyraccoon's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I should note the reason for as low of a score as I gave may be influenced by the several queer literature courses I took over my college career. In this case, the novel felt more like referencing other, fuller novels rather than becoming a fully-fleshed story itself. It does receive a full star for truly committed to monster porn, though.

My main issues come from the main character. Leslie is an outsider looking in, and that meant a lot of character development surrounding love interests, “friends”, and antagonists was not present. I also have a strong distaste for stories that have a bias against rural towns, claiming cities are better. In the case of Leslie, Stevie does call this out at one point but it is hardly acknowledged and does not seem to change his opinion. Of course, yes, this town is evil and the population is truly horrible, but it felt as though I were being told through past stories and dialogue why they were so villainous. I would have liked to see more action between the protagonist and antagonist(s), as much of their scuffles really only came from passive-aggressive comments.

I was also frustrated with the pacing, as we don’t even see the monster until halfway through the story. Most of the book consists of Leslie becoming frustrated with the townspeople and, it is noted several times, being unable to read Woolf’s Orlando. It did drive me crazy how many times this was noted. The last fourth of the story is great, there are very exciting and tense scenes (and monster porn) that truly categorize it as a horror. It is disappointing that we did not get more of it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes queer horror, with an emphasis on queer living. Mandelo’s writing is decent and can be very engaging when something is happening to move the plot forward.

Content Warnings