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seraphiina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Addiction, Violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Rape, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Cancer
ribbenkast's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
However, I do have to give this book 5 ⭐️. It just does everything right. First there is the mystery: the book mainly consists of forum posts on an gay escort rating website in the early 2000's. There is no way to verify which accounts are real and which accounts are fake (even though the poor webmaster does try). Dennis Cooper does not take the reader by the hand. You have to do some detective work and decide for yourself what is real and what is fake.
Secondly, it uses gore and violence effectively within the story. (So many times in extreme horror, gore is just simply there for the shock value. I find that rather overdone and boring). Some of the described acts are so vile, I had to put the book down for a bit. Whether these things actually happened or whether these were just the perverted ramblings of someone getting their weird rocks off remains to be debated. (Although we get some answers in the end.)
When does a fantasy cross the line? What is ethical even if someone supposedly concented? It is a cruel account of what happens when people egg each other on to live their most perverted fantasies. This book written in 2004 is an important early conversation about Internet safety and mass delerium when people can hide in anonymity.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cancer, Alcohol, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Excrement, Gore, Slavery, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Classism, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, and Drug use
danimacuk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cannibalism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Torture, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Trafficking
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Excrement, and Drug abuse
Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Racism
j_yarbrough's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Stalking, Abortion, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Vomit, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Chronic illness, Drug use, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Medical content, Cancer, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence
paigie_pie's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Sexual content, Drug use, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Torture, Self harm, Blood, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, and Addiction
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Cancer, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Cursing, Suicide, and Excrement
msdiamar's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Cancer, Pedophilia, Excrement, Gore, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Terminal illness, Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, and Vomit
emmabereading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Murder, Gore, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
kiiromitsubachi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Torture, Trafficking, and Self harm
cmrnism's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
i’m unbelievably paranoid right now, even though there’s nothing to be paranoid over. worse than any horror.
for some reason, i just didn’t stop reading. morbid curiosity i suppose, all for nothing with that ending though
anyone rating this higher than 2 stars should seek professional help
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Torture
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Cancer
Minor: Abandonment, Chronic illness, and Incest
kibernick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Certain passages reminded me of stumbling across disturbing blogs and websites back in the day, that left me scarred for days. I had trouble remembering who was who or who was real, but I think that was what the author was going for (maybe profile photos would’ve helped :) ).
Overall the book is an interesting read, if only to see how transgressive and innovative writers can be (which can be refreshing). Would be curious to check out the author's other works.
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Violence, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Blood, Murder, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Drug use, and Excrement