Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt

54 reviews

milliemark's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Body horror, Incest, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Drug use

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

Unapologetically disgusting and unflinching in its commentary against the spread of transphobia, this novel is a riveting example of how pain and fear can disrupt the minds and growth of those unfortunate to be infected

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Content Warnings

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.

ahliahreads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Not for the faint of heart or easily squeamish. However if you're tough enough to handle the parasitic, subversive nature, this might be one of the most important stories of the year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Transphobia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Body horror, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Eating disorder, Murder, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

caidyn's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• 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

What. The. Fuck? And what does it say about me that I enjoyed it a lot? This is in the same vein as Eric LaRocca. Incredibly fucked up. Not for the weak.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Transphobia, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Fatphobia, Incest, Dysphoria, and Deadnaming

Minor: Rape

lovelylilelle's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, Incest, Child abuse, Blood, Body horror, Physical abuse, Child death, Excrement, Outing, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Abortion, Death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Cursing, Confinement, and Fatphobia

owlribbon's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Incest, Gore, Excrement, Dysphoria, Body horror, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Drug use, Child abuse, Vomit, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Transphobia, and Violence

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

First and foremost: this book is NOT for everyone (it’s probably not even for most, tbh).

It’s RIFE with graphic depictions of shockingly taboo sex (way worse than whatever you’re imagining right now). If that means I’ve already lost you? Totally understandable. Do not read this, lol.

BUT, I think pushing through the grossness of the book opens the door for some really important discussions about its themes. I mean, aside from being an extreme horror novel, it IS a timely political satire about transphobia in Britain. 

The main motif that I noticed again and again was the idea of bodies as “hosts” for something. One character has an impregnation kink and obsesses over the idea of hosting a fetus, another character is aroused by the idea of hosting a parasitic organism, and the villains of the story are people infected with extraterrestrial brain worms that are meant to symbolize (and also manifest in the story as) transphobia. 

The concepts of womanhood, motherhood and internet culture are also explored; and, to my great amusement, one of the villainous (and worm-riddled) characters is a not-so-subtle allusion to JK Rowling.

My only complaints are that a few chapters went a bit off the rails and became too abstract for my taste—some are written as this second person POV stream-of-consciousness that lacks about 70% of the necessary punctuation—and the r slur gets used in a way that I found gratuitous. 

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Content Warnings

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

ellisdex's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

jesus christ. i have brainwyrms brainworms

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Excrement, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Gore, Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Body horror, Violence, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Classism

Moderate: Blood, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Genocide, Stalking, Torture, Suicide, Dysphoria, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, and Grief

beaverla's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Body horror, Incest, Dysphoria, Drug use, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Gore, Excrement, Violence, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder

gilroi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-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? Yes

4.25

 Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in return for a fair review. Sorry for reading it in one sitting.

Weird, lyrical, unhinged, whip-smart, extremely painful. This book is difficult to describe, but that's a compliment; it's complex and refuses to compromise, while still having highly engaging and readable prose. Most experimental / poetic novels are a little too obtuse for me, but Rumfitt's eye for prose and person always sits well.

In the end, I think I liked it less than Tell Me I'm Worthless, though I don't really think that's the book's fault. While it begins with (helpful!) content warnings, it doesn't really go into enough detail for me (I'm fine with books not having content warnings, for the record, but this book's CWs were a bit vague). In the end, it dwelled on subjects I personally find incredibly gross. Not morally suspect, not bad, not wrong, just, for me, subjectively, gross. And that will inevitably make me like a book less, no matter how well it's written.

And Brainwyrms is incredibly, startlingly well written. It's at least as good as Tell Me I'm Worthless, perhaps better in how it expands its scope and aims. The book has a lot more to say on a wide range of issues, but still hits the topic home. If you disliked the unsubtlety and long rambly prose style of TMIW, though, this book is similar. Personally, I find that a success; I love Rumfitt's work and her style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Fatphobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Drug use, Death, and Excrement

Content warning for graphic scat, water sports, bugs / parasites, parasitic infection.