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Reviews tagging 'Body horror'
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
500 reviews
galexywitch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. Overall I would say I enjoyed it but I also HATED some parts of it.
My main issues with this book were:
1. The extreme feeling of frustration during the first ~2/3s of the book. I had a pit in my stomach while reading, not due to the horror elements or tense moments, but because I was just SO frustrated with how everyone was treating the main character. While I understood that the other characters needed to mistrust her for the plot, it often felt too extreme too quickly and drove me crazy. I would’ve preferred a little less mistrust and gaslighting, especially coming from the people closest to the main character. That or I wish there were more in depth/reasonable explanations for why some of these characters were not on her side since it didn’t always seem justified.
2. The unnecessary sexual violence against women and children. I mean, I just don’t think this was needed? It felt like it was included for the shock value more than the author having anything meaningful to say about rape/sexual assault, which is something I really do not appreciate in books, especially coming from a male author.
My main issues with this book were:
1. The extreme feeling of frustration during the first ~2/3s of the book. I had a pit in my stomach while reading, not due to the horror elements or tense moments, but because I was just SO frustrated with how everyone was treating the main character. While I understood that the other characters needed to mistrust her for the plot, it often felt too extreme too quickly and drove me crazy. I would’ve preferred a little less mistrust and gaslighting, especially coming from the people closest to the main character. That or I wish there were more in depth/reasonable explanations for why some of these characters were not on her side since it didn’t always seem justified.
2. The unnecessary sexual violence against women and children. I mean, I just don’t think this was needed? It felt like it was included for the shock value more than the author having anything meaningful to say about rape/sexual assault, which is something I really do not appreciate in books, especially coming from a male author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Body horror, Suicide, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
hayleyjames24's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Really wish I liked this book just a little bit more.
I finished it and just closed it and went on my phone hahah, it won’t stay with me.
I did like most of the characters and thought they were well fleshed out, each with their own problems and desires (even if those desires and problems were a bit annoying) Slick was probably my fave and I did really enjoy James Harris. The writing was super easy to read and raced by for me but felt like it spent a lot of time dithering in the middle - dunno if 400 pages was necessary to tell the story. It was very obvious what was happening a short while into the book and then you were just waiting around for someone to believe this housewife.
There was a fair bit of racism and sexism in here as well. Check some trigger warnings.
It got gory and kinda body horror-y at the end and I did like that it wrapped up the way it did. Probably won’t pick up this authors books again.
I finished it and just closed it and went on my phone hahah, it won’t stay with me.
I did like most of the characters and thought they were well fleshed out, each with their own problems and desires (even if those desires and problems were a bit annoying) Slick was probably my fave and I did really enjoy James Harris. The writing was super easy to read and raced by for me but felt like it spent a lot of time dithering in the middle - dunno if 400 pages was necessary to tell the story. It was very obvious what was happening a short while into the book and then you were just waiting around for someone to believe this housewife.
There was a fair bit of racism and sexism in here as well. Check some trigger warnings.
It got gory and kinda body horror-y at the end and I did like that it wrapped up the way it did. Probably won’t pick up this authors books again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse
mel_e_reads's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-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
3.5
Dark and violent, goes to places I was not expecting. It wasn’t the most provocative of reads but it was interesting. I think it did a good job showing what happens when people ignore bad in favor of the good things happening and what the fear of consequence does to people. It just happens to do this under a very bloody veil.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Violence
ohheyash's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This book did take me a min. to get through. I was neither good nor bad. I think the mid to end of the book picked up for me. I can say that how housewives were treated by their husbands in this book had me ready to go through the book and help them out!! I like how a group of women, especially one in particular, came together to save the day. It’s messed up what happens along the way though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Blood, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, and Rape
georgiabee's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
I flew through this book. I liked the writing style a lot — I was worried as I DNFed The Final Girls Support Group because I’m not a horror movie fan, but was pleasantly surprised by this one. Don’t let the pretty cover fool you, this shit gets daaaark. Like, def check out the trigger warnings for this one.
This is a supernatural horror, so there was obviously some suspension of disbelief involved. That said,why did no one question the rats??? Like, I know they didn’t publicize Ms Mary’s rat death a bunch because it was weird and gross, but was no one like WTF?? Where’d all those rats come from? . I also wish we’d gotten to know more about this particular brand of vampire lore as it clearly departed from Dracula/Edward Cullen standard vamp rules.
This is a supernatural horror, so there was obviously some suspension of disbelief involved. That said,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Dementia, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Child death
Minor: Animal death and Kidnapping
aelis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death and Blood
tiudragonfly's review against another edition
Extremely gory, sexist and racist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Classism, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Toxic relationship, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Kidnapping
editorsansserif'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
NB: This book deserves a host of content warnings before reading. If you are a sensitive reader, please check those before starting this book - it escalates the deeper you get. It is not a "light" read.
General overview: A book that is, actually, about a vampire, though not in the way you might expect - pitted against a community and a group of women (the 'book club') who are deeply flawed and fail several times, at a great cost, before finding the courage to do what is right. Strong themes of racism, sexism/misogyny, and child predation.
Emotional impact: I loved this book, despite not being able to love its characters. The main cast, and protagonist, are flawed, sometimes very deeply. They do show growth over time, while many of the side cast do not (or deteriorate), and it works - but they never truly become heroes. I spent a lot of reading time being angry and incensed, not toward the villain, but toward the main characters of the book, and the families that surrounded them. I feel like that's part of "the point."
Visceral impact: The body horror, and gore, did make my skin crawl, but never felt explicit enough to make me want to stop reading. The author sometimes went a little 'over the top' with the terrible events that happened in the novel, to the point of unbelievability and disgust. Spoilers/CW for child death:Most of the children's suicides were remarkably unbelievable, outside of the boy that jumped in front of a truck. The evil rat infestation was also extremely supernatural to unbelievability, despite the fact that the supernatural was the ultimate explanation. No one would find these events to be credible, even in the 1990's southern American world.
Counter thoughts to some criticism:
General overview: A book that is, actually, about a vampire, though not in the way you might expect - pitted against a community and a group of women (the 'book club') who are deeply flawed and fail several times, at a great cost, before finding the courage to do what is right. Strong themes of racism, sexism/misogyny, and child predation.
Emotional impact: I loved this book, despite not being able to love its characters. The main cast, and protagonist, are flawed, sometimes very deeply. They do show growth over time, while many of the side cast do not (or deteriorate), and it works - but they never truly become heroes. I spent a lot of reading time being angry and incensed, not toward the villain, but toward the main characters of the book, and the families that surrounded them. I feel like that's part of "the point."
Visceral impact: The body horror, and gore, did make my skin crawl, but never felt explicit enough to make me want to stop reading. The author sometimes went a little 'over the top' with the terrible events that happened in the novel, to the point of unbelievability and disgust. Spoilers/CW for child death:
Counter thoughts to some criticism:
- On the 'Stepford wife' nature of these wives and mothers in the 1990s: I found this not only believable, but incredibly realistic. I grew up in the 90s with a southern-trained mother and a southern grandmother, and around many families who had the same 'sensibilities' drilled into them. The way that these women acted in the book felt like a genuine flashback to what it felt like growing up around women who played pleasantries and kowtowed to men and never wanted to disturb the status quo. While I can see why they might not come off as believable to those who haven't experienced what I have, I felt it was authentic. CW (suicide/minor spoilers):
My mother didn't protect me from the predator in my own family, and she dismissed my earnest pleas for help when I was battling depression and suicide as a teenager. My father always knew what was best to the point he'd become threatening if he was questioned. They wouldn't have protected me from a vampire. - On the misogyny: See above - this felt very real to me thanks to my own lived experiences. Of course there are good men. It's just that none of these husbands were good men. It would have been nice to have a good man join the women to counter the culture around them - one husband who really did believe his wife and didn't fall for the trap - and that does feel like a disservice. I can also see that the author was trying to really lean in to the power of women and their shared bonds, so it could be a tricky balance to find while keeping the message the same.
- On the racism and racist stereotypes: As a white person, I can't and won't speak to representation of the POC in the novel. I do feel, however, that the quiet racism that was expressed by the white women in the book was genuine and called into question several times. These white women do not ever go through a full anti-racist transformation, but they are confronted and, I believe, do make some steps of growth. We're never shown anything more than a reckoning with their unspoken attitudes and the result of those actions, though.
- On animal death: I thought that the final animal death scene was touching, actually, and made both sense rationally and plot-wise. That's not for everyone though: if you don't like pets dying, you're going to hate that portion of the book.
Additional criticism: Addressed in my content warnings, but there is a side plot during which the main character's son is becoming increasingly obsessed with Hitler + Nazis. This isn't treated seriously at all by the characters in the novel and is not resolved by the end of the book. This should have either been dropped or handled with more severity, and that's a major lack of sensitivity to the implications the author adds with this plot element.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Classism, Racism, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, Sexism, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Addiction, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Antisemitism
Re: Antisemitism:sergyar's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Sexism, Body horror, Animal death, Child death, Racism, Gore, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, and Drug abuse
mxcaswell's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Murder, Body horror, Racism, and Animal cruelty