Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

24 reviews

tonysipsandreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book says its a sci-fi/fantasy, but it's horror. A very dark horror. It's probably one of the most disturbing things I've read in a long time. I honestly can't put together a coherent sentence to describe how I feel about this book. Read at your own risk!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, and Violence

ehmannky's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful fast-paced

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

3.75

IIt's a fun, past-paced read that delves into repairing harm (if possible), the cost of justice, class divides and gender. The whole, reverse-sexism was an interesting take on the society as a whole, but I found the alternative family structure of 9 parents for every one child the most interesting world-building aspect (even if I'm still a little fuzzy on every parents' exact role in the family structure). Even the living-fish ship wasn't as interesting as all of that. I feel like the pacing at the end doesn't quite match the speed of the rest of the book, and it sort of feels like So Much happens So Fast and there's not a lot of time to process anything (an epilogue would have fit great here). Also, I felt that many of the secondary characters fell a little flat to me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Body horror, and Sexism

The body horror in this book includes

includes disintegrating people into goo, finding their remains in stuff growing from the living ship and the ship impregnating the main character and tentacles coming out of her vagina (it makes sense in context). I personally didn't find these too graphic, but the latter certainly threw me through a loop.

the_mushroom's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Body horror

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexism

sweetpotatofries's review

adventurous reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Sexism

amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

This was very off putting at first with the intense descriptions of living inside an animal and interacting with its body systems. But the intricate, robust world building and engaging characters fascinated me! By the halfway point, I was completely invested in the story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Body horror

Minor: Sexism and Vomit

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The gist 📚: Surviving inside of space beasts is not easy, especially when you're a member of the working class and risk your life every day to make life on the beast possible in the first place. Seske is the heir to the noble bloodline that rules her people. She has to play her cards carefully if she wants to take over in a few years. When she discovers a fatal secret within the beast, everything changes. 

For readers looking for 💕: Vivid sci-fi worlds, complex friendships, assassination and espionage, creative survivalist societies, something a bit dark, bipoc characters, powerful women, and LGBTQ characters. 

My thoughts 💭: I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the lives of royal Seske and her best friend (and crush) Nyla. The world building in this book is incredibly vivid as well. Maybe not the best read for fairly squeamish people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Chronic illness, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, and Gaslighting

Death of a sibling

dominicangirl's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Violence

arasmelly's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book was fascinating. I love the way that it unfolded. The worldbuilding was imaginative and engaging. My only complaint is that there were some moments where the author did more telling than showing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Miscarriage, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual content, Death of parent, Vomit, Genocide, Child death, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Drug use

Minor: Sexism, Racism, and Racial slurs

jennikreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

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

3.0

Seske is set to become the next matriarch to a spacefaring clan living inside a beast they have restructured for their own survival. Seske is thrust into leadership at a tumultuous time for the clan when everything seems to be deteriorating quickly. 

 

I think I have an unpopular opinion on this one. I missed the content warning about body horror and that is something I am absolutely NOT into, so I should have DNFed it when I realized that the majority of this book was just one body horror scene after another. It can get very graphic, so be warned if that is not your thing. 

 

That said, the characters and the setting of this book are quite imaginative. I also thought the political/social system was well developed and those aspects are what kept me engaged in the story. It’s full of diverse and intersectional characters, which I love to see. 

 

However, I get really frustrated when characters are constantly given choices to make and without fail choose the worst one every time. It’s just not realistic. Even someone who is completely devoid of rational thinking would accidentally make a good choice at some point. Seske and Adalla are both written as smart, clearly rational thinking, capable women, so it just did not track for me that they made so many poor choices constantly. 

 

I was still hanging in there, again because of the world building and characters, but the ending. THE ENDING. If I hadn’t been listening to an audiobook, I would have genuinely thrown this book across the room. IT TOOK A TURN. And no, you absolutely could not have predicted that turn because WHAT?! 

 

Needless to say, I won’t be reading the second book. If you’re in to bizarre science fiction with a heavy dose of body horror and looking for a diverse cast of interesting characters in a well developed political/social world, then this one might be for you. But if you don’t like weird or body horror... do yourself a favor and pass. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Child death