Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Dead Inside by Chandler Morrison

57 reviews

keraturner20's review against another edition

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

4.5

This is messed up…but good? I don’t know how to feel about liking this book. 

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miarosefox's review against another edition

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dark
picked this up because a youtuber recommended it and said it was super extreme. it was certainly gross! gratuitously so! no point to it at all! the incel writing style made this a hard one to get through but it’s so short that i trudged through. even if it’s splatterpunk satire, the “i’m edgy and different” vibes were too much

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deathmetalheron's review against another edition

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

3.5

Not for the fainthearted, to put it lightly. The prose and approach to character is phenomenal. It goes without saying that the major themes of this book are cannibalism and necrophilia, and the author does not shy away from visceral descriptions of both acts. 

This is my first splatterpunk book, and even though the majority of themes are met with revulsion the vast majority of character dynamics/situations negotitate with the severity in an appropriate matter, that is to say--appropriate for their subject manner. The protagonist is quite unlikable, and while there are dips in moments whereas you wonder whether the dislikability is intentional or just potentially reflective of an acidic actual personality of the author it mostly fits the story. 

That is to be said, the most grotesque scene in this book (if you've read it, it's very obvious, the one about 2/3 to 3/4 through the book) is very clearly written to offend and due to its nature comes across more as shock jock tomfoolery than necessary revulsion. The last action taken in the scene by the characters is far too meta but for a book that is so meta-aware the text does nothing to indicate it understands that angle at this point in the story. As it stands, the concept of exploring humanity's dark psychological recesses is certainly possible but it will always reek of tryhardism if we simply rely on weak, ineffectual shock without any existential consequence.

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florenciangl06's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
BEFORE READING PLEASE read the fucking trigger warnings I swear to god, not exaggerating.

While I really enjoy fucked up books, this one just felt like the author took the worst things he could imagine, put them in a blender, swallowed it, and then vomited it into a book. And the worst part, is that it just felt cringy, like it was written by and edgy 16 year old. It's disgusting. It's annoying. 
I really believe it could have been a really good book if *certain* scenes weren't just shock value. 
Serously, read the trigger warning guys.

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perpetuallygreads's review against another edition

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2.0


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hannah_allen's review against another edition

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dark fast-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

2.0

I believe there are two ways to write a disturbing book. The first way is to develop the characters, their personalities, their backgrounds, etc to give the reader full insight into why each character is the way they are; the story calls for dark scenes because the characters have been intentionally created to be dark people. The second way is to say to yourself, “What are the most disgusting/vile/disturbing things people can do? I want to write those things and have my characters do them.”

Unfortunately, this author chose the latter of these options when writing Dead Inside.

The reader receives limited information about the two main characters and their backgrounds. There isn’t a full-fledged story told- we go from one horrific and gruesome situation to the next, until the book eventually ends. And in my opinion, if an author is going to commit to the dark and disturbing parts of the human psyche, then the author has a responsibility to the reader to write a story, not a series of disturbing happenings loosely woven together with necrophilia and cannibalism.

Aside from the author’s descriptions of the books’ settings, the prose is underwhelming, and the dialogue feels forced. The twist is predictable, but is set up very well throughout the book. The author gives the reader a lovely, ironic dichotomy of the two characters’ “final forms” in the last pages that gives some relief from their grotesque tension. I also enjoyed the brief periods of time I found myself “rooting for” the main character; these were also welcomed reprieves from the book’s (at times) unnecessary graphicness. 

With all that being said, I *am* sitting here thinking and talking about this book, and this could very well be one of the author’s goals. In that sense, he did what he set out to do. I just think this book could have been written with a clearer point of view. Maybe I’ve interpreted this in a way it’s not meant to be interpreted, but I will not be re-reading this book to parcel that out. 

If you want a much darker, shorter, and more disturbing book with the same vibes as Verity by Colleen Hoover, this *might* be a book worth your time. If you absolutely love body-horror movies, this might be a book worth your time. If you’re looking for something purposefully shocking, this also might be a book worth your time. 

TRIGGER WARNINGS (graphic descriptions): necrophilia, cannibalism, sexual assault, rape, abortion, infant death.

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kzweig13's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

The most disgusting book I have ever read. Would not recommend ever.

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mossroot's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-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
I forced myself to finish this book. Every minute was painful and I almost genuinely (scouts honor) vomited on two occasions. Wanted to see if this type of horror was for me and I grossly underestimated how vile it would actually be. This story does not use its vile actions to further the plot, tell any meaningful story, create any suspense, or make any type of commentary. Truly regret reading this book. It had well written descriptions, don't get me wrong, with a story that was aware of how disgusting it was, but it was not something I enjoyed at all. I am a horror and thriller fan, but this is anything but. This is splatterpunk to the extreme. Reader beware. 

I feel incapable of currently giving this book any type of star rating, due to the how absolutely disgusting and vile the subject matter is.
No part of me feels that I can say this book deserves any stars. Fucking a dead baby is just something that I cannot get behind. Not even mentioned off hand, this sex act is VISCERALLY explained. There is no true justice or anything for this MC and it's very bleak and disgusting.
 

Dead Inside took me a little over two hours to read. 

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heatherdarby88's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-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

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jwvaughn's review against another edition

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dark sad 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? Yes

4.0


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