Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill

32 reviews

violetturtledove's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This had me absolutely gripped the whole way through.  It's a great mix of Scandinavian folklore and survival horror, with a good dash of 'spooky cabin in the woods'. I only felt really creeped out in the earlier chapters, but this is not faint praise as its a feeling I rarely get at all from books. By the time the creepiness faded for me,  the tension was already high and it did not let up for the rest of the story. There's also a good amount of visceral horror so fans of gore will not be disappointed. 

The characters were well fleshed out, if not particularly likeable, and by the end you certainly sympathise with the main character despite his faults.

It ends well too, there's enough left for the reader to think on without anything being left glaringly unanswered. This is the first book I've read by this author and I will definitely be reading more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

wytnie's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.75

it was a good read, i wish we got a bit more out of the other men in the group and i feel like the author is obsessed with trying to make some of his descriptions to detailed. Like sometimes he nailed it and other times it was just too much idk. All in all though i don't regret the read and want to watch the movie again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Violence, Death, Grief, Torture, and Toxic friendship

nnylelocin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Gore, and Torture

charlieeee's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Body shaming, Cursing, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Confinement, and Sexism

Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Kidnapping

The first part was fabulous. Some really good examinations of people growing apart; philosophy of life (for male-socialised people anyway); it was tense and had some great metaphors and other strong writing. And then part two happened where I would have sworn I was reading a completely different book altogether! The metaphors were over the top, made no sense in the context of the scene and the characters were really stereotypical - and the less about ‘Surtr’ and the constant repetition about her breasts, body and ‘smell’ of her genitalia the better. Was so disappointed by part two. So so disappointed.

And the reveal of the big beastie ‘the god’ in the woods at the end was such a let down. Everything was leading up to this point and the pay off was so disappointing - we barely get a paragraph. There’s letting your mind fill in the blanks and then there’s this.

awaywiththefairies's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Gore

broccoli_aesthetics's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The first part in the woods is very tense and interesting. The stalking creature is damn scary and the characters are flashed out really well. Unfortunately I feel that the second part of the book falls flat:

the black metal band is honestly too stereotyped to be interesting

and I felt like it killed the mood.
The book then gets better again near the end

with moder and the white children

Overall, i still enjoyed the book quite a bit. 4/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Body horror, and Blood

Minor: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Racism, and Homophobia

tallesttrees's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

rivercat0338's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Death, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Kidnapping, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, and Gun violence

snazzy10101's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

the vibes are wonderful (including the second half with the black metal band, i liked the change of pace) and the descriptions are baller. 
however. none of the characters are remotely likeable, and there are 2  female characters (one old lady, and one teen girl who is fat shamed AND sexualised).
there’s a lot of fat phobia 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Violence, Death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Antisemitism, and Cultural appropriation

pastelbread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Animal death, Death, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Torture, Fatphobia, Excrement, and Addiction