Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt

69 reviews

bumble_abi's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-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? No

4.5

True splatterpunk, this is not for everyone but YES she's done it again. Tell Me I'm Worthless was one of my favourite books of 2022 and Rumfitt carries that same brand of angry, brashly political horror-satire into her second novel. Takes literally the tongue-in-cheek assertion that transphobes are infected by brainworms, but plays that out against a strange, seemingly doomed relationship between a trans woman and her latest partner (and their respective impregnation and parasite kinks). A slow burner, gradually spirals down into its own depths, managing to implicate the media elite and the upper middle classes and good old fashioned misogyny into a weird explosive climax.

Rumfitt does a lot of cool things narratively with this, inserting herself as a semi-fictional authorial voice from ten years in the future, writing some parts in the second person, and occasionally addressing the reader directly. It's extreme but also full of care, beginning with trigger warnings and including a striking moment halfway through where the reader is encouraged to step away to prepare for what's coming next. It's ambitious in its scope and aims and impressive in how it handles them, but I think a little slow in the execution and may e could have benefitted from one additional ruthless edit.

Still, brilliant horror from one of the most original voices of this generation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Death, Excrement, Gore, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Body horror

ellisdex'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jesus christ. i have brainwyrms brainworms

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Excrement, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Gore, Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Body horror, Violence, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Classism

Moderate: Blood, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Genocide, Stalking, Torture, Suicide, Dysphoria, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, and Grief

beaverla's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Body horror, Incest, Dysphoria, Drug use, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Gore, Excrement, Violence, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder

kentanapages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Actual review to come. Immediate reaction What the f did I just read, I am disturbed. This is some f#@ked up sh!t. Every trigger warning.  it’s horrifying it’s just so disturbing i read it in one sitting 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Hate crime, Incest, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Vomit, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Excrement, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Chronic illness, and Pedophilia

Minor: Body shaming, Ableism, Deadnaming, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Dysphoria

Weird, There’s not a content warning specific to “graphically depicted parasite fetish” :)

jackie_reads_314's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Sexual content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Gore, Hate crime, Rape, Bullying, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Cursing, Drug use, and Transphobia

vanmeers's review

dark 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

5.0

I’m calling it now, but Brainwyrms is gonna be one of those “either you love it or you hate it” kind of book except it’ll be more like ‘if you’ve never read extreme horror, let alone trans horror, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into’ and it’ll probably leave a few people NOT liking it because it’s brand new territory for them. 

To me, Brainwyrms isn’t just extreme horror with a bit of grossness and kink, it’s also at its core queer horror — trans horror, specifically — and I think if that’s the genre of horror you like, you’ll absolutely love this. I love it. I thought it was disgusting and gross so many times, but I also couldn’t put it down. Alison Rumfitt literally does NOT hold back when it comes to the extremes nor does she hold back when it comes to being political (and I could probably go on a tangent here, but to be short, how can you not be political when you are living as a trans person in the UK). There’s so many layers of horror in this but to me the horror that stood out the most was the horrible truth of living as a trans or queer person in the UK and the fear you face daily and Rumfitt really managed to write it so well, that even I, a cis person, could feel the fear and anger deep within. I can’t pretend to know what trans people go through, especially not the extent of what body dysmorphia can be like, but I do think Brainwyrms managed to make that feeling a bit more tangible to me. It might not have been the intention, but I do think it says a lot about Rumfitt’s writing that you can resonate with her characters and their fears, wants, and needs. 

I’m rambling, but I absolutely loved every part of this (in a I want to vomit/I want to look away/I need to continue reading kind of way) and I’m looking forward to buying a physical copy I can place next to my copy of Tell Me I’m Worthless. 

Alison Rumfitt is the moment y’all and Brainwyrms is for anyone who loves messed up kinks, broken characters, interconnected stories that fuck with you, and not so subtle nods to certain kinds of TERFs in british society (no spoilers, but again, Rumfitt does NOT hold back). If you’re unsure that Brainwyrms is for you, go to a bookstore and read Rumfitt’s introduction when it’s out, it’s magic, and ask yourself if you’re the kind of person that already prefers trans/queer (and/or extreme) horror. 

I suppose this would be perfect for you if you liked Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca and Maggot Girl: Episode 1: A Maggoty Metamorphosis by Otis Bateman, but always wanted to know what would happen if both books fucked and had a a very messed up, but well written, child.

// Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the ARC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Dysphoria, Gore, Hate crime, and Transphobia

Minor: Deadnaming and Adult/minor relationship

jackalopecore's review

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Vomit, and Child abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Rape, Murder, Violence, and Hate crime

sleaterkenneth's review against another edition

BOOT NASTY!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Excrement, Incest, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Vomit, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship

queersandbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Body horror, Transphobia, Vomit, Excrement, and Hate crime