Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

21 reviews

wildeflower's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I thought this book was really well done and very interesting. It was extremely gory, and there was one part in the end that grossed me out a lot, but overall I thought it was very impactful and seemed to me (a cis woman) to have good trans representation. It also provided a lot of social commentary on not only lgbtq rights but also classism, racism, sexism, and nationalism. Overall was definitely worth the read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Outing, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Deadnaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Outing, Alcohol, and Classism

This is a book about a group of transwomen trying to survive an apocalypse where they're being hunted by literal TERFS, and so there is so much trans violence, slurs, hate crimes, etc. towards trans women / trans femmes.

erikathered's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.5

This novel may not appeal to everyone as it's written from a very particular perspective and for a very particular audience. But if you're within that audience, if you're interested in dark, tense fiction that explores trans experience through a new lens, you'll love this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Slavery, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Racism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Colonisation

petricampp's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, and Self harm

Minor: Cancer

captainfez's review against another edition

dark sad 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

emmague89's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lycheejelly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Excrement, Abortion, and Pregnancy

dracovulpini's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Deadnaming, Infertility, Pedophilia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and War

rosesofthespring's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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? Yes

1.0

I was so excited for this book. I put a hold on it as soon as it hit my library and waited two months. I am desperate for explicitly trans horror novels. I'm unbelievably excited to live in a time when more and more trans authors are able to write openly and loudly. 

I cannot overstate the disappointment.

There are moments of shining brilliance in this novel. Gretchen Felker-Martin can write incredible scenes when she's empathizing with the characters and not working out some kind of miserable grudge. The worldbuilding is absurdly bioessentialist, something which I was terrified of when I heard the premise, but I remained hopeful that she'd avoid the pitfalls. She does not. There's no room in this world for nuance, for the reality of the hormone spectrum, or for any amount of kindness or nostalgia. When the author attempts to engage with controversial real-world issues, it falls flat, coming across as two-dimensional.

This book is effectively a longform fiction version of the author's favorite online conspiracy theories. But I suppose that's redundant. I can see how this might seem fresh and edgy to anyone who hasn't been mired in online trans subcultures, but to someone who knows where the lens originates, it seems tired and bitter. Sometimes that's a basis for a solid book. I wish this was one of those times. This one goes out to the truscum and transmedicalists, the bioessentialists who believe gender is stored in the hormones, radical "feminists" who believe the genders are "oppressor vs oppressed," and the members of sad little forums who are stalwartly barricading themselves in the darkness of their worst days. I hope it gives them what they're looking for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

machinations's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

Hell yes. Cried at the end. Much smarter people than will have more interesting words to say about Manhunt, but I think one of the biggest things that stood out to me was that this is one of the few books I’ve ever read where each sentence is beautifully, horrifically crafted; whole stories within sentences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Dysphoria

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Classism

mallory10100's review

it was gruesome, and i honestly got tired of it. there was one chapter (called The Brat) where i didn’t know which characters POV was present until the character was named at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail