Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt

41 reviews

saturn_rage's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

Fucking hell this stressed me out. I originally started it months ago, read about the first third, and took a prolonged indefinite break due to the anxiety it brewed in me. Anyhow, on returning I finished it in two days, so take that for what you will. 

The stream-of-consciousness that is much of this book works well for the characters and the subject matter, and also gives you a sense of the existential anxiety lacing the entire narrative, something that seeps into you the reader as well (at least for me). Anyhow, I did like this, though it comes with a whole load of content warnings and my stomach is pretty strong. It taps into some parts of me that I should explore more, and is very topical given the current climate I am struggling to exist in. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Drug abuse, Excrement, Blood, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Transphobia, Vomit, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Body shaming, and Child abuse

arlenren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Visceral, provocative, revolting. Don't make the mistake I did and start reading this on the train; you do NOT want anyone looking over your shoulder. Once I'd found a more suitable place to read it, I couldn't put it down. This book pulls no punches as it lays out the threat that trans people face in the UK today, unflinching in a portrayal that remains truthful even through a lens of conspiratorial fantasy. Like all the best horror novels, it has moments of comedy that provide respite from the crushing tension. I went into this book thinking it was going to make me feel sick yet surprisingly it didn't, in spite of how personal some of its triggers are for me. I guess there's something wrong with me?? Luckily, there's nothing wrong with this book. If you have a strong stomach and an open mind, this is a faultless read. Easiest five stars I've given in a long time. (Please do check the trigger warnings though).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gore, Abortion, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, and Drug use

iceperg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Bullying, Body shaming, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Deadnaming, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Rape, Gore, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Infertility, Excrement, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Addiction, Mental illness, Hate crime, Fatphobia, Dysphoria, and Drug use

rivergardner's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Transphobia, Eating disorder, Incest, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Homophobia, Hate crime, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, and Vomit

Moderate: Mental illness, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Death, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Minor: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Deadnaming, Animal death, and Drug use

readingwithgoose's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Some parts of this were reallly strong, and if you're looking for something gross that's also well-written, this'll do it for you. I think some of the more experimental parts went over my head tbh, but I still somehow couldn't put this one down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Murder, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Blood, Gore, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Vomit

Moderate: Incest, Self harm, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal death, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Dysphoria

hamletslover's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Drug use, Deadnaming, Alcohol, Violence, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Body horror, Blood, Abandonment, Vomit, Torture, Suicide, Physical abuse, Grief, Excrement, Child abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Outing, Infertility, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Classism, and Child death

lrgluck's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

5.0

Alison Rumfitt once again crafted a brilliant critique of fascism through the lens of body horror

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, Transphobia, Body horror, and Self harm

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Incest

Minor: Antisemitism and Xenophobia

anxiousnachos's review against another edition

challenging dark

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Abortion, Blood, Pedophilia, Dysphoria, Excrement, and Gore

yassassin'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Even though the book contains a trigger warning, please pay attention to the warnings included in my review and on this site before reading. If there are any topics you need or want to avoid, chances are this book covers them.
Now onto the review. If you've read Rumfitt's book Tell Me I'm Worthless, you'll probably soon realize that Brainwyrms uses a different metaphor for the same issues: rising transphobia in the UK and the far-right radicalization pipeline. This isn't either praise or critique, in my opinon both metaphors work well to take you on a rollecoaster of feeling disgusted and terrified by the supernatural horrors, only to realize the segments accurately depicting reality are just as horrific. After all, what is a dangerous idea you find online other than a vicious worm trying to slither its way into your brain and multiply?

If the segments detailing worms oozing out of a TERF's eyes caused me to stop reading for a second to catch my breath, the passages about the same woman purposely misgendering and attacking her trans child made me want to scream in despair.

You're likely to either finish this book with a deep feeling of depression at the state of trans rights, or set it aside with the need to fight harder than ever to make sure it never goes as far as what the book describes.
Then there is the other component of the novel: a very deep, detailed dive into extreme kink, mixed with a good portion of body horror and absolute psychological f*ckery. Even if I didn't let it get to me too much, I won't pretend like I didn't struggle to make it through certain chapters. I'm not completely convinced all of it was necessary, even in a horror novel.

If the author herself feels the need to literally address the reader in the middle of the book just to warn them of the extremity of the following chapters, I can't help but feel at least some of it is somewhat gimmicky. I found myself thinking: the social transphobic horror was horrifying and anxiety-inducing enough, are you sure the point will be reinforced by including incest, detailed descriptions of masturbation with animal feces or random unrelated stories about suicides and murdered influencers?

I was about to rate Brainwyrms 4 stars, because I did enjoy reading it (in some twisted way) and I appreciate someone taking the extreme route to speaking out on the situation in the UK and elsewhere. Then while writing this review, I realized the two main aspects of the story didn't blend well in the finale, which felt simultaneously too grand, and not grand enough. Or better still, not satisfying enough. Not terrible enough to make a very ugly point, not cathartic enough to make it all feel worth it. Too open, but too concrete at the same time. One day, I will have to find the strength to do a reread, maybe. Hopefully, by then the world won't be taken over by Brainwyrms. I hope Alison Rumfitt gets to write many more deranged books that will make me question her sanity, and mine for reading all of them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Incest, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Violence, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Body shaming, Alcohol, Medical content, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, and Pregnancy

mandi_lea's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Mental illness, Body horror, Child death, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Deadnaming, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual content