Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Reddening by Adam L.G. Nevill

7 reviews

acharis's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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? No

3.75

Not exactly the kind of horror I initially thought I was in for, but still an engaging story. And the setting was definitely a highlight. Such a vivid depiction of a very particular place, with a very unique tone/mood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Torture and Cannibalism

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual harassment

jupitervivienne's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.5

As a fan of southern gothic, I’ve been wanting to explore folk horror since they feel like sister sub genres. This book was recommended a lot for the genre and, since I enjoyed the film adaptation of The Ritual, I was excited to read this. Unfortunately this wasn’t the right start of this genre for me. The beginning chapters, while quality-wise feeling like a first draft, captivated and horrified me with the initial introduction to the red people. The following chapter detailing the press conference about the cave discoveries also intrigued me and I was ready for more. The story doesn’t really go anywhere particularly interesting with this though, making the threat and horror of the situation fall flat. It also attempts to tie in a bunch of different elements to give a sense of the grand power of the cult, but ends up feeling too random and disconnected. I also felt disappointed by the writing of the two main women Kat and Helene, which again made something initially interesting fall flat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

Minor: Suicide

meganblink'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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, and Torture

rojo25's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, and Cannibalism

mlvanlancker's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

rotfaced's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

This book was... Okay.  His descriptions can be very colorful.  Visceral and graphic at times, it still failed to deliver horror as I was hoping it would. There was a lot of reliance on exposition, especially up front, which dragged the pace down considerably; only half-way into the book did it seem like movement had become a focus, and even then, I wasn't drawn into the events until about 70% of the way through. There is a very poor balance of introspection versus action. Sometimes, there's pages of reflection between a characters movements in-scene. 2 stars because the plot did, eventually, prove to be somewhat entertaining and I was able to finish the book. 

Also-- and this is a big turn off-- I don't like how the author wrote the women in this story. He seems obsessed with pregnancy. No, really-- its a focal point of both of the main characters inner struggle, and

also happens to be a fixture of both the unknown enemies/"creel" and the matriarchal adversary

. Really skeeved me out. 

Please pay attention to the content warnings. While none of these things bothered me outright, I did not mark them as 'graphic' for no reason-- the author spares no expense when it comes to these triggers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infertility, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Misogyny, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Police brutality

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Drug use, Alcohol, and Colonisation

tieflingkisser's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence