Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

121 reviews

lacunaboo's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I tore through these 400 pages in less than 3 days! I loved the characterization and themes. It was funny in places, then when the horror elements came here and there it was kind of a shock just how gory or horrifying they were - but the story never dwelled long on the these facets. So even though this is a horror novel, I took away a sense of a fun romp that had you cheering on some oppressed Southern housewives of the 1990s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Dementia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

bree_klass's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

this is a really fun read. well-rounded. my first vampire book I think??? and I liked it. maybe it’s time to finally read Dracula.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Murder

sarahsbookss's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Animal cruelty

fallandfox's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Rape

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

dominika13's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

marthadude's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I was absolutely hooked on this book. I abandoned all my responsibilities and got through it in two days. The title absolutely gives away the plot, but the tension makes up for it and keeps you guessing on what's going to happen next.  I would definitely check the trigger warning because it hits a lot of them. I will also say that there are parts where the author relies a lot of stereotypes and archetypes, which isn't necessarily always handled well in my opinion. I also think that

the sexual assault and the way the vampire feeds goes too far. Instead of going for the neck, as traditional vampires do, he goes for a vein in the inner thigh. It really makes it sexual for what seems like just shock value, which is especially concerning given the fact that most of his victims are underaged. Likewise, the rape that occurs in the book, while not needlessly graphic, was wholly unnecessary in my opinion. Apparently, this is what is required to turn a person into a vampire, and, honestly it doesn't make a lot of sense. It felt like it didn't need to go in that direction. In addition, I don't understand why Patrica's son was obsessed with nazis and why it wasn't really addressed in any meaningful way. It was just an odd choice.

Overall, this book was a fun and faced paced read and I had a good time reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship

A main character is raped by a supernatural creature. While the rape itself isn't graphically discussed, the aftermath of it is. Because of this, the character is sick for a long time and eventually dies. There is also a jarring scene where the same supernatural creature (who is a grown man) feeds off of a high schooler. This scene is almost sexual in nature, as both of these characters are naked in bed. No actual sex happens but it's very suggestive as the creature feeds on the inner thigh. The creature also feeds on a 9 year old, but this scene is much less suggestive in nature.

arti_27209's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Rape, and Suicide

Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail

elliesberrie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Antisemitism

isstar's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I am not sure about this one. 
The first half of the book was very enjoyable : tense, mysterious and, most of all, fun to read. After a few chapters, some little things started to bother me. Not because of the writing itself, the characters, nor because of the gruesome content: I am not new to horror and I know what kind of heavy themes/imagery can be associated with vampires. Instead, it felt like a lot of scenes were undermining the message of the book. At the end, I was even confused on what the story wanted to tell me. Maybe I was just expecting to read something else entirely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, and Dementia

odrib's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt