Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Die leuchtenden Toten by Caitlin Starling

13 reviews

smolhandsdan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

This not a story for everyone, it doesn't focus on monster and super natural, they do makw an appearance here and there in the story - enough for me to be on edge when they pop up.

The main drive for the characters in this story is grief and trauma. And the fucked up system of needing money and putting yourself in a dangerous scenario just to get what you need. I liked that reality. I liked the pull and give between the characters learning to trust each other and recognize their faults and how to move past that.

The horror of cave diving, swimming through tight places, and relying on gear was enough to get me in HELL NO, NOPE headspace anxiety for the the main character. I think at times it could be a touch repetitive in the experiences chapter by chapter. The author was good at weaving new existential dread, frustration, despair, mental trauma that kept it fresh. I was sitting here wondering if the end would be depression hell or if it might turn out alright somehow.  I enjoyed the grief, I think that kinda dark place isn't something everyone understands but damn was it powerful. 

I enjoyed the audiobook I'm excited to check out the other authors works!

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samferree's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0


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eldritch_archivist's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

Gave me real life anxiety reading this, absolutely shitting myself during the back half. I'm now much more afraid to read more books by this author.

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bsmucker's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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ladyinverse's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.75


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vasha's review against another edition

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

4.0

A book for October? The Luminous Dead has ghosts, sort of (their exact nature is unclear), and they are definitely the scary sort, not ones you could have a romance with — nor, friendly ancestors in the tradition of Dia de los Muertos. This is a science-fiction suspense/horror novel about a weeks-long solo descent into a cave that has already killed many — but although dangers and discomforts take a toll on Gyre, the explorer, she’s ultimately less threatened by those than by the mental pressure of having no one to talk to but her one remote-linked handler (one! when it’s normally a team — and why? that turns out to be an important question). Gyre has past issues with abandonment and isolation, and it turns out her employer/handler, Em, is even more emotionally damaged, and has made bad choices that got people killed — they have their figurative ghosts to deal with… is Gyre seeing literal ones too? Em and Gyre struggle with each other, and bond strongly, and it feels like romantic love to them. It’d take a dedicated romance believer to think they’d really be good for each other as a couple after the end of the book. I have seen a remarkable number of long and meaty reviews for this novel, meaning it makes people want to ponder, and write about their ponderings. I'm personally not sure it's as deep as all that; could have been sharpened up with more psychological and sociopolitical acuity (and also would have benefited from being a hundred pages shorter). But worth reading, absolutely.

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basil_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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emory's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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entanglednovels's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense 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? Yes

4.0


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