Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

25 reviews

booknerd85's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

gdobson's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion

hanarama's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

On the generation ship Matilda, Aster is a healer and one of the slave-caste that makes up the lowest rungs of the ship's society. When the death of the ship's sovereign reveals strange links to Aster's long dead mother, she seeks to unravel the mystery left in her mother's journals while struggling against the oppression against her and her people. 

I really loved the coding of Aster as neurodivergent. Solomon characterizes her as unwavering and immensely intelligent while also traits that read as neurodivergent. She stims as she navigates the ship, she fixated, and she has difficulty with metaphors. Solomon has real skill in creating characters that feel like complete people. 

This is a really intense book. As would be expected of a sci-fi slave story, there aren't a lot of "happy" moments. Moments of respite maybe, but not really any truly happy moments and the book can feel pretty bleak at times. The plot is not as tightly written as it perhaps could have been at the end, but Solomon still makes powerful statements on systemic racism and acts of resistance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Rape, Abortion, Violence, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Body horror, Blood, and Ableism

deepfriedaries's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Violence

erenreads12's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

I had some doubt about this book at some points, and almost didn't end up finishing, but ultimately I am glad I did. Although clunky in places after about a third of the way in the author truly gained mastery over the pace and characters. The writing developed into a beautiful use of language to pull together a sci-fi-based commentary of a world not dissimilar from our own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Torture, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content