Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Gideon la Nona by Tamsyn Muir

799 reviews

miranda226's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

I think this book will stick with me for a long time, in the best way. Gideon is somehow funny and endearing amidst some of the most brutal imagery. The story is mysterious to the end, while also being reflective and incredibly imaginative.

Also the audiobook narrator did an excellent job, the audiobook is a great way to enjoy the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood

eleanorjmca's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

A great read. Fun, engaging, mysterious and dramatic but never takes itself too seriously. Great world building, although we only see it in glimpses - I enjoyed how the setting reveals itself more and more as the book goes on. The relationship between the two main characters drives the book but the plot is also very complex, and at times a bit hard to keep track of - having read this book twice I’m still not sure I followed everything that went on! Part of this is due to the POV character being oblivious to most of the complexities of the plot, which helps to keep readers in the dark; not an unreliable narrator so much as a clueless one, which I enjoyed but did make it hard to follow at times. The middle section of the book also drags a bit. What really made the book special for me was the unique narration style, which I think could probably come across as annoying and cringy to some readers but which I found very charming. I listened to this on audiobook before I read it, which added to the experience immensely - very highly recommended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Gore, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide and Violence

Minor: Cannibalism and Murder

ayomason's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and War

(no spoilers) If you're worried about the CWs, it may be a good idea to google details to gauge your own comfort level. IMO, even if you know spoilers, it's still enjoyable and definitely worth reading. That being said, I usually don't mind spoilers in general as I'd rather be prepared before engaging with potentially triggering media. I know other people find that spoilers ruin the experience, so to each their own. On a similar note, this is a great choice if you enjoy books that you can read multiple times. Knowing what happens does not at all take away from future re-reads. I've read it twice, and the second was just as enjoyable, if not more. I know I will return to this book over and over.

heir_of_regulus's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

It's a really cool idea, but I feel like it wasn't executed well. Pretty much the entire time I was reading it I was waiting for the plot to get going. The romance felt forced instead of natural. Honestly a lot of this book felt forced. Maybe it's just me, and I read it when I was in the wrong mood/headspace. But I had a really difficult time feeling anything for these characters and also a hard time trying to get sucked into the world. Which is pretty abnormal for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Minor: Genocide and Slavery

shadowearitei101's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

That ending… everything leading up to it… holy shit.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Gore

forestfloor's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this! I think the concept is original and it's really strongly executed. I found the balance between humour and creepiness worked really well. The creepiness itself was excellent, I think this is a great example of body horror done right. I found that even though most of the characters were described very negatively they were still lovable, which was great. 

My main drawbacks are that the story doesn't do much (any) handholding about the world building - I like that we avoid big exposition dumps but it does mean that you end up with that high fantasy thing of needing to get a third of the way into the book before you get the hang of who's who and how the world works. Additionally, I still have questions!! This is a series so I can't be too mad about every element of mystery not being wrapped up until I see how they're addressed in later books, but I do think some pretty key plot points go unexplained. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Genocide

joensign's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, and Suicide

Minor: Cancer and Cannibalism

kelisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

professorguanaco's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Cancer

haddy's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I DESERVE TO BE GIVEN COMPENSATION FOR THAT ENDING !!!!
I love them I love Gideon the ninth and I love herrowhark nonagesimus

((Listening to this was very confusing at times bc everyone has an unnecessarily complicated name and also like 5 variants of said name))

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gore