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calcified_boner's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Incest, Violence, Torture, Hate crime, and Transphobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Alcohol, Child death, Fatphobia, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism, Classism, and Abandonment
saccharinewoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Incest, Violence, Body horror, Hate crime, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Murder, Ableism, Dysphoria, and Sexual assault
djbobthegirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Incest, Misogyny, Deadnaming, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Child death, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Blood, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Self harm, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Trafficking, Alcohol, Abortion, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Stalking
trashgobby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Transphobia, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Deadnaming, Body horror, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Violence, Sexism, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gore
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Death of parent, Excrement, Alcohol, Incest, Violence, Child abuse, Infertility, Abandonment, Eating disorder, and Classism
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Body horror, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Rape, Blood, Drug use, Mental illness, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Lesbophobia, Deadnaming, Murder, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Excrement, Incest, Transphobia, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Chronic illness, Death of parent, War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Police brutality, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Trafficking, and Antisemitism
seawarrior's review against another edition
4.0
The leads in Brainwyrms treat themselves and others with an aggressive disregard that unfurls into gruesome violence of cosmic proportions. I recognized their ideas and actions in some of the worst and most unwell people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. Rumfitt is obviously someone who has grown up on the Internet, and was able to depict its underbellies and relentless noise of voices with deftness. However, I did not understand how some of the plots and themes of the book related to one another. This may be because I read the book so quickly, or it may be because I had no familiarity with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Conqueror Worm", which should be a prerequisite for this novel. I would recommend this book to other readers willing to sit with their disgust and read a story that makes no attempt to alleviate their fear of the future. The future for transgender people may be a horrifying one, and Rumfitt knows it.
Graphic: Vomit, Murder, Chronic illness, Transphobia, Mental illness, Incest, Body horror, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Excrement, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Self harm
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Confinement, Misogyny, Animal death, and Lesbophobia
vixenreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Death, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Excrement, Gore, Murder, Rape, Deadnaming, Infertility, Medical content, Violence, Body shaming, Transphobia, Blood, Cursing, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Vomit
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Outing, Suicide, Child death, Classism, Incest, Addiction, Confinement, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment
Minor: Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, Animal death, Stalking, and Antisemitism
Be aware that this is frank depictions of parasitic infestations with human bodies, urine, water sports, scat-play, anal sex, cyberbullying, online harassment, bombing, terrorism, eating and inserting excrement, fisting, running away from home, homicide, and extreme TERF behaviour.gia0203's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The same themes pervade both books: being transgender in Britain, and how it links sexuality and trauma. Rumfitt writes about how it feels like we’re going backwards. She touches again and again on how extremist ideas spread. Interestingly in this novel, the internet is also a major theme, for example the fetish community. She pulls at the tension between fetish communities as a bit of fun, a sanctuary and as a coping mechanism.
This book is at times very satirical. I really enjoyed that. It isn’t scared to expose the underbelly of hypocrisy in modern politics. There’s a passage in this book that says everything is about sex, and people just like to pretend that it isn’t. This book is daring when Britain at the moment is leaning towards conservatism and tradition.
In this book, the worms are the metaphor for extremism, similar to the haunted house in Tell Me I’m Worthless. But Rumfitt’s books can’t really be defined as just one thing. She juggles many metaphorical plates at once. I criticised Tell Me I’m Worthless for it’s lack of clarity, and I don’t hold the same criticism for this book. In many ways it’s a stronger novel. Rumfitt is growing really well as an author.
Subjectively however, I think the difference between them is that Tell Me I’m Worthless was more emotional, more zoomed in on the two people at the heart of it, whereas Brainwyrms takes a broader perspective. I prefer Tell Me I’m Worthless on a personal level, but Brainwyrms is the better book.
Graphic: Hate crime, Body horror, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Self harm, Excrement, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Outing, Fatphobia, Animal death, Addiction, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Murder
Minor: Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Ableism, Antisemitism, Infertility, and Rape
Terrorism/Bombinglifeinpoetry's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Child abuse, Transphobia, Body horror, Sexual violence, Self harm, Rape, Gore, Violence, Eating disorder, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, and Incest
Minor: Ableism and Deadnaming
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Ableism, and Deadnaming