Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller

25 reviews

sydneyraereads's review

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

Wendy is trying her best to enjoy pride after self-sabotaging her best relationship. Unfortunately, zombies ruin the plan.

What I liked
The diverse cast of characters with different sexualities, gender identities, and gender expressions. This feels queer norm even though our cast is in contemporary Arizona, United States. I appreciated following Wendy throughout the story. King-Miller took multiple opportunities to write snippets from the perspective of people transitioning into zombies. This was eerie and thrilling.

The horror elements were gruesome and a little gratuitous, but as "romp" says on the back cover, that was to be expected. It didn't take away from the story in any way since that is a key element of zombie horror--the transformations and the creative methods of killing. Despite the heaviness of these elements, the characters were still building/breaking relationships and the thematic elements presented were well-delivered. 

What wasn't for me
Despite having a diverse cast of characters with changing relationships, the character growth was shallow. I don't think it was intended as a major point of the narrative, so I can forgive it. 

I like erotic scenes as much as the next person, but having them so graphic and embedded within this horror was jarring. If those scenes played out in a movie adaptation of this I would roll my eyes for how unnecessary it was to the story. I think it was just as unnecessary in print.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

courtsport's review

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Suicide attempt

spaghettii's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

asch's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Vomit

Moderate: Sexual content

flacabeans's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? No

3.75

The story is incredibly predictable but it’s mindless enjoyment. The FMC can be quite irritating but luckily the supporting characters make up for it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body horror, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, and Lesbophobia

waterbear0821's review

adventurous dark sad fast-paced

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

3.5

I like that the queer horror genre is growing. It’s not my favorite so I can’t claim to be an expert, but I enjoyed this book. It was a pretty quick read and didn’t bore me at any point. I do think it relied just a little too much on cliches and stereotypes, but I get that that’s the style it was going for. Some of the writing was stylish and witty, I liked the descriptions of the environment, but sometimes it was all just a bit much for me. I didn’t love the characters but there was some character development. The reader gets insight into quite a few of the “minor”characters, which I liked. If I have one complaint, it’s that I wish it was more fun. I know it’s horror and people die and that’s inherently not fun, but I know it can be done. There were some attempts any lighthearted or funny moments but it never lifted the book out of the bleak trenches. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Murder

Minor: Body shaming, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

aeradyren's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

vixenreader's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.5

Although I’m still mad at Leah, and the ending is open-ended, this book is filled with realistic, loveable characters, great gore, great action, and a message of fighting for your community. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, War, and Classism

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, and Abortion

Be aware that this book deals with estranged relationships between ex-partners, plots to destroy community, attacks targets at the LGBTQ+ community, broken condoms, refusing medical services due to religious beliefs, corporate & political corruption, fear of unwanted pregnancy, selling out, explosions caused by fireworks, and zombies.

fuzzball's review

challenging dark emotional fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Car accident, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Lesbophobia

sommermeyer27's review

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Self harm and Suicide