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jessnrusso'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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
jemmers'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cburns13's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
catatlanta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
grey_jayne'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
5.0
I still don't know if her work is accessible to cis people but honestly I don't fucking care. We needed her voice from out of the darkness and I will follow her wherever she goes next. Trans books for trans people!
This is also officially the book with the most trigger warnings that I've logged so far. The label "Extreme horror" should be treated with respect and care. Enter at your own risk.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria
minxtte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Islamophobia and Fire/Fire injury
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: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
erica_reads_things's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Dysphoria
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: Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Ableism, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Infertility, Rape, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
Terrorism/Bombingahliahreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Excrement
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism