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rat_leoo's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
tbutton's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alyx30's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reginaldmusgrave's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is phenomenal, but MAN did I hate it
fanglyfish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Toxic relationship
mayonessa's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 4.5 stars
This book was like nothing I had ever read before. Koja really challenged me with this story and every word and turn was carefully crafted to create an odd mindfuck that keeps you on edge until the very end. While it was not as scary as I was hoping it would be, it is still a fantastic horror/sci-fi read that puts you on the edge of your seat. Koja is the only author that can write characters realistically enough that you ACTUALLY hate them and still delivers on giving you what you want as a reader. Perfect read for any horror fan.
This book was like nothing I had ever read before. Koja really challenged me with this story and every word and turn was carefully crafted to create an odd mindfuck that keeps you on edge until the very end. While it was not as scary as I was hoping it would be, it is still a fantastic horror/sci-fi read that puts you on the edge of your seat. Koja is the only author that can write characters realistically enough that you ACTUALLY hate them and still delivers on giving you what you want as a reader. Perfect read for any horror fan.
posies23's review against another edition
5.0
Koja's book originally came out in the early 1990's, and it, along with Poppy Z. Brite's LOST SOULS, signaled a major change in mainstream horror novels. This horror was contemporary, and looked at the lives of people on the edges of society -- either by choice or by fate. The protagonists weren't noble or even likable, and the horrors of the books were as much the horrors of everyday life as they were the supernatural or unexplained events of the plot.
Koja's voice was unique, though, among the paperback horror writers of the time. Even now, thirty years later, there's something about her use of imagery and stream-of-consciousness that holds the same power it did then. I remember the book being controversial when it came out. Some people didn't like the unanswered questions and the seedy character settings. Some people were "grossed out" by the imagery. But I think that the people who focused on those things missed the overall point, which is that it's not about the component parts, but the whole of the novel. It stands as a truly unique piece of horror fiction, and one that bears revisiting. I'm 30 years older than I was when I picked that paperback up in some long-forgotten bookstore -- and that copy is long-gone, probably lent to some ex-girlfriend or purged in one of my many moves -- and I still found it equal parts disturbing and fascinating, just like I did then, but for almost completely different reasons.
It's not for everyone, to be sure, but if it sounds like something you might enjoy, it's certainly worth the journey.
Koja's voice was unique, though, among the paperback horror writers of the time. Even now, thirty years later, there's something about her use of imagery and stream-of-consciousness that holds the same power it did then. I remember the book being controversial when it came out. Some people didn't like the unanswered questions and the seedy character settings. Some people were "grossed out" by the imagery. But I think that the people who focused on those things missed the overall point, which is that it's not about the component parts, but the whole of the novel. It stands as a truly unique piece of horror fiction, and one that bears revisiting. I'm 30 years older than I was when I picked that paperback up in some long-forgotten bookstore -- and that copy is long-gone, probably lent to some ex-girlfriend or purged in one of my many moves -- and I still found it equal parts disturbing and fascinating, just like I did then, but for almost completely different reasons.
It's not for everyone, to be sure, but if it sounds like something you might enjoy, it's certainly worth the journey.
dramypearson's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes