Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Institute by Stephen King

14 reviews

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

4.5

♡ Small Town

♡ Toxic Institute 

♡ The Kid Saves the Day

While I don’t care for a lot of Stephen Kings books, I think I might have finally found the exception.  This book was really good.  The details in this book weren’t overwhelmingly unnecessary but rather well written into the plot, the backstory and setting.  While there were a few parts I didn’t care for like the mentions of a thermometer, dude, they are children why was that necessary to write like that and then joke about later one in the book? It was just an ick about the book. 

There were more things I enjoyed about this book than things I disliked.  The plot was amazing and all of the characters were very well detailed.  It was such an entertaining read, it kept my interest the entire time.

Spice Level: n/a

Angst Level: 💧💧💧💧 (4/5)

POV: Multiple, Third Person

Release Date: 01, September 2020

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Cursing, Death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Child death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Drug use, Suicide, Trafficking, Vomit, Classism, Fatphobia, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Self harm, War, and Dementia

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Excrement, Racial slurs, Ableism, Addiction, Cancer, Police brutality, Car accident, Sexism, Misogyny, and Alcohol

sunflower7skull's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

very good book!! dark but well-written and interesting worldbuilding

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, War, Gun violence, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Self harm, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Vomit, Addiction, Racism, Excrement, and Stalking

Minor: Racial slurs

bookswithlauren's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Excrement, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Vomit, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, War, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug use, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical content, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

ajay913's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Blood, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Torture, Body horror, Violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Gun violence, Cancer, Vomit, and Alcohol

Minor: Gaslighting, War, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

spooderman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

the book was good but i would’ve chosen someone other than santino fontana to narrate it. idk i think he’s great in general but i didn’t vibe with his narration

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Terminal illness, Torture, Medical trauma, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Vomit, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, and Bullying

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Cancer, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Misogyny, Alcohol, Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Racism, Drug use, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Excrement, Car accident, Drug abuse, and War

pkc's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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? No

2.0

I finished this in conjunction with the audiobook, reading the last 200+ pages in my physical copy and…King remains one of my favourite authors BUT this just wasn’t it for me. It felt a bit like he’d bitten off more than he could chew and the end was rushed with a resolution that could be described as shaky at best. I rated it as highly as I did because the final set piece was epic. It either needed to be expanded or drastically cut back. I can’t decide which. I will say though. The authors note at the end of my copy brought a wee tear to my eye.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide, Confinement, Cursing, Self harm, Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

horrorhomebodies's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Stephen King’s ability to write a simple sentence with a plethora of meaning is absolutely brilliant. I gave 4.25 stars because the ending was a bit lackluster for my taste, but still warmed my heart enough to earn the .25 of the rating. I wish there had been a bit more of an insight into the characters backstory, but overall it was an enticing read. It really made me think beyond the scope of fiction, which is a large part of why I loved The Institute. Well worth the read in my opinion!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Torture, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Cancer, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Suicide

bp_43's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

He got to stop tryna write black people and disabled people. Very interesting allusions to the holocaust 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Body horror

Moderate: Racism

directorpurry's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Body horror, Medical trauma, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Death of parent

mondovertigo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Suicide

Minor: Alcohol and Excrement