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sweetestwindmill's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
My main problem with this book is that I found nearly every single character spectacularly unlikable at worst, and flatly uninteresting at best (with the exception of Beth, who remains the MVP). In spite of the fast-paced action and constant gut-punching twists, I just didn't really care what happened to them, and in some cases
Add this to the fact that the stream of violence, slurs, transphobia, body horror, torture, sexual assault, organ harvesting and countless other terrible things was so constant that I soon became numb to it and therefore it failed to have the shock value it was designed for, and... well, eh. I just lost interest.
It's a shame, because I did enjoy the central premise. And I know a lot of people really love this book, so maybe it's a skill issue! Horror is never going to be My Thing, and I will always, always prioritise careful character exploration over big exciting plot developments.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Gore, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Murder, Outing, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and War
Minor: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
callidoralblack's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Classism
amylfabry's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
melanied927's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
scheierndevin'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
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
katreena's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
scarletranger's review against another edition
However, that doesn't make the writing solid. Even given the unique genre, things like similar sentence structures, bland, one-dimensional characters, and an over-reliance of forcing the message down the reader's throat make this an unenjoyable experience. And as someone who identifies as non-binary, the message of "all cis-het people suck!" is just as harmful as the reverse.
The worst offense, though, is that in the writer's anger (and it's clear that she wrote this out of anger), she somehow found a way to make TERF's hatred make sense? For context: this is a world where anyone with too much testosterone turns into a zombie that rapes, kills, and eats anyone they smell estrogen on. Trans-women have to find ways to keep getting estrogen, or else they are doomed to the same fate.
In a zombie apocalypse, it would be dangerous and stupid to harbor someone with a bite simply because you don't want to seem like a bigot. Why, then, should TERFs allow trans-women into their compounds, to live near their groups, when at any moment they could turn into the dreaded man? TERFs are some of the worst scum on earth, and yet this book makes their fears and hatred legitimate.
It doesn't help that one of the main characters (a trans-woman) immediately starts fantasizing about raping the TERFs the moment she sees them because she's so horny, all the time. When this book isn't preaching at you, it's throwing rough sex in your face with no lead-up. Just a "Wanna fuck?" and there they go! Whether that's because of the genre or poor character-building, I don't know.
This book was clearly written in anger. If the author had any joy in this project, it would have been the sadistic glee of saying "all men are murderous rapists just waiting for an excuse" and being able to make them suffer. At least, that's how it reads, and that experience sucks.
To any writers out there: when you try to force your message too hard, not only does it feel like you're talking down to the reader, it leaves you open to "proving the point" of whoever you're opposing. And that can offer dangerous ammunition. This is a book TERFs could easily hold high and say, "Look! Even they know we're right! They're dangerous and should be kept away from us." And that is one of the worst things a book can do: hurt the very people it claims to represent.
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic
zombiezami's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Outing, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death and Panic attacks/disorders
dwhiting's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
peachylite's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Vomit, and Trafficking
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Cultural appropriation