Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

23 reviews

deetabz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, War, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Antisemitism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol and Vomit

zghutcheson01's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

The ending was a little rushed and cheesy but overall the book was wonderful. It has the winding, broken aspect of a tale told by your grandparents who are remembering new parts as the telling goes on and it's absolutely beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Antisemitism, Death, and Hate crime

Moderate: Gore, Animal death, Genocide, Racism, Body horror, Xenophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Violence

displacedcactus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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? Yes

I wanted to love this book. I loved the concept, and the opening pages really pulled me in with Nethercott's almost lyrical writing. But y'all, this book is miserable. Sparks of joy are few and far between, quickly moved past so we can focus more on Isaac and Bellatine's intense self-loathing.

I didn't like Isaac at all as a character. I have no time or patience for smarmy men or people who steal from small businesses and others who can ill afford the loss.

Bellatine was a character I could have liked, but she was so closed off that I felt like she was even closed off to me as the reader, and it was hard to connect to her.

A story about hosting a traveling puppet show in Baba Yaga's chicken-legged hut should feel fun and adventurous, even if a dangerous enemy is chasing you. But no fun was to be had.

There is a final, beautiful, hopeful message at the end, but I had a miserable time getting there. I understand why others enjoyed this book, but I was the wrong reader at admittedly the wrong time in my life for something this heavy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Violence, and Self harm

Minor: Cannibalism and Vomit

There's a brief off-handed mention of necrophilia, somehow SG doesn't have a CW tag for that one. There are specific scenes of a pogrom and they're pretty disturbing.

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? No

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, Gore, and Genocide

Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Grief, and Drug use

corvingreene's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Gore, and Antisemitism

Minor: War and Violence

laurareads87's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked a lot about this book.  I found the writing beautiful, and I feel like the author has handled serious and difficult themes -- intergenerational trauma especially -- very well.  I liked the last quarter of the book best, and found that while some questions were left unanswered, the ending was absolutely a satisfying conclusion.  I am not the most versed in Jewish myth, but I appreciated how it was interwoven into the story from what I do know; the historically informed chapters of the story are at times difficult reading, but are very, very well done.  What really didn't work for me was one of the two main contemporary characters (several other reviewers have gotten at why); I found Isaac a very frustrating character, and did not like the way the Isaac/Benji storyline in particular was written like it took place in a much earlier time period (Great Depression, perhaps?) than it did.
<i>Content warnings:</i> Antisemitism, genocide, murder, grief, self harm, blood, suicidal thoughts, animal death, animal cruelty, fire/fire injury, xenophobia, death, child death, violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Gore

Minor: Alcohol

savvylit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

"There is no such thing as a ghost of the dead. Yet suffering has a way of begging to be remembered. Sometimes, as a story. Sometimes, as a wraith."

Based on the Slavic folktale of Baba Yaga, Thistlefoot is a beautifully written and heartbreaking dark fairytale. The plot and the characters are compelling and not overly fantastical. Isaac and Bellatine are both perfectly imperfect protagonists with unique magical abilities. Thistlefoot, the house, is an enchanting setting AND a dynamic character all on its own. The Longshadow Man is a horrific antagonist. Hubcap, the cat, is the best character and deserved more love. The Duskbreaker Band members are all quite cool and their backstories are the one thing this novel needed to explore in more depth. Winnie is a delight. And Baba Yaga? She was a badass trying her best.

Beyond the deeply memorable characters and plot, the real power of Thistlefoot lies in its exploration of the legacy of suffering and the way that trauma echoes unseen throughout generations. Alongside Isaac and Bellatine, Nethercott invites readers to recognize the power of remembering historical atrocity. If we don't remember, we can't heal. If we don't remember, we can't honor those who have been lost.

This stunning saga is GennaRose Nethercott's debut novel. At first, this fact surprised me given the many achingly gorgeous passages in the novel. However, prior to Thistlefoot, Nethercott was most well-known for her poetry. Additionally, in the acknowledgments, she cites the prose of Angela Carter and Ray Bradbury as inspiration. That inspiration and her clear poetic skill both shine through so vividly in the magical, devastating world that Nethercott has created in Thistlefoot. I won't soon forget the Yaga family story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Gun violence, Death, Grief, Child death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

teafrog's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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: Animal death and Gore

Moderate: Antisemitism, Death, Racism, and War

Minor: Deportation

abominablesnowaro's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Genocide, Gore, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror, Self harm, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol and Vomit

kingsteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Racial slurs, Gore, and Self harm