Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

59 reviews

vexatiousbird's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Not so much a horror story, though the elements of horror are there - more a story about monstrosity and otherness and women who are unashamed of themselves and doing what they need to survive, with the horror elements giving those themes a hard push.

I liked Adelaide, who is brave and decisive though pragmatic to the point of sometimes seeming emotionally detached. Side characters were also compelling, though we spent more time with some than I would have liked while others were left more unexplored than they probably deserved. Good writing and overall enjoyable, though at times a little bleak.

Mostly what stops me from giving this a higher score is that I felt not enough time is really given to explore the relationship between Adelaide and her mysterious burden, once the truth is fully revealed, and the lead up to the climax felt rushed and flat (partly as a result of that) when it could have been revelatory and profound.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Racism, Transphobia, and Violence

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

axel_p's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

billyjepma's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

A very good book with very, very good writing. It doesn’t all come together—the ending is a little glossy for my taste, and the genre elements don’t quite mesh with the historical fiction as cohesively as I hoped—but LaValle’s writing and characterizations are so sharply nuanced and textured that I was always invested in the story, even if I never felt compelled to rush back to it—which is why it took me a month to finish it. If anything, I wish it had been longer. With some more space to explore the setting, enrich the character dynamics, and delve into the themes, I could see the story becoming something really immersive. But as it is, LaValle accomplishes a lot in under 300 pages and delivers another tonal masterpiece that strikes a nearly perfect balance between the various genre, thematic, historical, and even political edges it’s engaged with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Racism, Transphobia, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

hmatt's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious 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

3.5

I really like this concept. The characters are diverse and feel very well-developed, and the storyline is interesting.

What holds it back for me is the pacing, which felt a bit up and down. This might partially have been how I read it, but it's one of those that start slow and then all of a sudden wrap up. With the very in-depth characterizations, I think it would have benefitted sticking to the slower pace and being longer. 

I also did not like the narrator for this audiobook - it felt too obviously like they were reading off a page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse

meganpbell's review

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

“History is simple, but the past is complicated.” This well-researched supernatural Western expands the picture of the Wild West we’re used to—redrawing the boundaries to include the Black, queer, and mixed-race settlers that lived and labored on the frontier while exploring assimilation and inclusion, complicity and community-building. To be honest, I appreciated this book more than enjoyed it. Recommended for fans of Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland.

Highly recommend reading this excellent article on the historical background of Lone Women:
https://www.tor.com/2023/04/03/book-reviews-lone-women-by-victor-lavalle/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Transphobia, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

seasonedreadings's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore

kvanderheyden's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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

3.5

Good but could have been better. The author had too many ideas going on toward the end that were not explained. The ending seemed rushed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

librarianjennifer's review

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious 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

I was so surprised by this book! Loved this fantastical, female-centric, Western horror story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

sarah984's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

I really liked this book - the history is interesting and the characters are well drawn. I didn't think the horror was that scary and a few parts were a bit silly to me but overall this is a great story about family, revenge, and the meaning of forgiveness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol