Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Queer Little Nightmares by David Ly, Daniel Zomparelli

16 reviews

archaicrobin's review

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

This story collection features short stories and poems all with LGBTQ characters and monsters. This was a unique collection but not every story or poem was interesting in my opinion. A few good stories here but be prepared to sift through as most are ok at best. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Body horror

ezriamongthestars's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

Everyone has different tastes in stories and poetry, so not everything in this anthology will appeal to everyone. I personally found some stories and poems deeply moving and/or interesting, most mildly interesting, and one in particular extremely grating and poorly written. Overall a good read for a queer horror enthusiast.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Racism, Vomit, Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Mental illness, Hate crime, Gun violence, Addiction, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Alcohol, Suicide, and Homophobia

Minor: Torture, Outing, Adult/minor relationship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Eating disorder, and Dysphoria

mnkeemagick's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a fun anthology. If you're looking for queer, reexamination of classic ideas or tropes, monsters, genuine horror (looking at you blood creatures), or simply cool new stories from cool new authors, I would definitely recommend this eclectic mix. Every story may not be a hit with you, but there seems to be something for everyone. 

Small note on the audiobook. While it was very well done and a great listen, I would probably give another second or two to the pauses between sections, maybe add a second reader just to help delineate. Otherwise, absolutely worth the time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Bullying, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Police brutality, Body shaming, Homophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Death, Confinement, Acephobia/Arophobia, Blood, Racism, Sexual violence, and Body horror

bi_n_large's review

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Hate crime, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Police brutality

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

readingmushrooms's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

An anthology of queer horror, Queer Little Nightmares is monstrously fun and thought provoking. Though filled with monsters very, very big and not entirely human, many readers can identify and relate to the struggles and lives the characters lead.
Larger chapters are followed by short poems or stories lasting a minute or two long, perfect for preparing for the next travesty (or shocking twist) to take place.
I really liked that even though these characters are technically considered “monsters”, sometimes the true horror is the situations they find themselves in, or the unassuming human in their world. Being gay, lesbian, trans, etc. can be lonely. Unfortunately we live in a world where differences are not always celebrated. We feel like the monsters of our own stories, but I feel like that shouldn’t be devastating like many traditional horror movies make it out to be. Our community has so many beautiful and creative people in it, and this anthology is a collection of such-peoples’ works of wonder.

I would recommend this book for any adult part of the LGBT+ community wanting an entertaining and sometimes relatable read; those who don’t identify with the LGBT+ community can also find themselves saying “just one more chapter” repeatedly, getting lost in the pages. I know I will be coming back to this collection many more times in the future, both in its entirety and in sections.
Some of the stories contain sexual content, violence, gore, etc. Please check trigger warnings before diving in. I added as many as I could think of relating to the stories in the provided section of this review, but please research for any more I could have accidentally left out while making this review.
Rating: 5/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Police brutality and Homophobia

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use

poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Body horror, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Gore

danyels_denouements's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Transphobia, and Homophobia

kyra_joy's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

This is really hard to review, I really Wooly bully,Glamour-us and on the origin of trans femmes. I also enjoyed a few others but overall wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. Not bad just didn’t feel like it was for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Animal death

kairhone's review against another edition

adventurous medium-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Gore

woolfinbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

THIS is the horror anthology I've NEEDED!!!

Questioning why queer people are portrayed as villains and then reclaiming that trope in a queer-friendly way was *chef's kiss*. 

 The diversity in this was fantastic. Hearing stories about different genders, sexualities, cultures, races, and ages made this a solid case for more inclusive storytelling. Queer Little Nightmares has been on my radar for a few months, so I'm very thankful for the opportunity to have listened to the audiobook via NetGalley. This is at the top of my list for my next book-buying trip. The narration was also *chef's kiss* At first I thought it might have been better with the typical creepy horror story voice, but nope, I was wrong. Their voice is great. Perfect. Loved it. 

Though I enjoyed every story and poem (seriously there's no filler in here) the standouts for me were The Vetala's Song, Godzilla Silhouette Against City, Glamour Us, And the Moon Spun Round Like A Top, Invert, and Ghosts of Prides Past. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Body horror, Homophobia, Blood, and Lesbophobia