Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Die leuchtenden Toten by Caitlin Starling

49 reviews

iam's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

SciFi cave exploration horror featuring lesbians tied up in a web of lies, what could you possibly want more?

 Content warnings include: amputation, manipulation, unconsensual administration of drugs, claustrophobia, medical failure, abandonement, gore and graphic description of corpses and causes of death; mentions of death of parents, absent parents.

I personally would have preferred the cave monster to appear more, and a lot of the plot went in circles (literally.) It didn't actively terrify me, but I think that's fine, more low-key/subtle horror more there due to the surrounding situation than what actually happens (and a lot happens!) suits me more than the outright can't sleep one.

Very atmospheric, with a great cast of two characters, and the audiobook narration is done absolutely incredibly by Adenrele Ojo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Medical content, Abandonment, and Gore

amputation

aranmn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

What I liked: the atmosphere, the horror aspect, the sci-fi elements, the originality of the setting. What I didn't like: the characters; they read very juvenile and melodramatic. 

If you can get past the characters and like slow-paced, psychological horror, I would say this novel is totally worth a read, though. I personally enjoyed it quite a lot even though I can see why many people don't.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Body horror, Abandonment, and Gore

Moderate: Vomit

smarzipan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death of parent, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Drug use, Medical trauma, Vomit, Death, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Gaslighting, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, and Grief

marleens's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed the setting of the story. Despite the detailed descriptions of the spaces, I did have some trouble properly picturing everything, but I liked the overall sense of darkness and isolation and small spaces to squeeze through. The survival element of dwindling resources was well done. The tension was high throughout, mainly because of all the emotions of main character Gyre. I was let down by the end though. In the second half the scary creepy vibes increased, and that got my hopes up for a satisfying ending but I didn’t really feel like we got that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Body horror, Vomit, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I am fine and definitely not afraid
*checks over shoulder*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Vomit, Death of parent, Abandonment, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

yuyuv's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

millibear's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

To chop up a Tumblr post I made about the book:

The Luminous Dead was a super effective horror novel for me. I had to go sit next to my partner and be patted on the arm while I was getting through the last 10%, lmao.

The limited third-person POV works so, so well in a story where one character’s understanding of her environment starts deteriorating.

Our protagonist Gyre is exploring a deep cave system at the behest of a mysterious corporate concern all by herself. She’s wired into her cave suit, recycling and recirculating waste material in a closed loop, and subsisting off of food delivered straight to her gut because a monster in the caves may be attracted to any trace of humans.

From the second Gyre enters the caves, she’s robbed of connecting to her environment with three of her senses: smell, taste, and touch. She especially laments the last as exploration of the cave wears on her.

All that’s left to her is sight and sound, and it’s not enough as she starts questioning why she's been hired to go down here and whether she's really alone.

While I can think of a logical reading of the novel—Gyre is hallucinating badly because of paranoia and stress from early on, and it only getting worse as things go to shit—the timbre of Gyre’s panic and her constantly rounding back on herself on whether or not she can believe her perceptions color that whole experience. I cannot in good faith just say to somebody, “Oh, she imagined all those things.” Somewhere deep down, I question myself, too. And that’s why “The Luminous Dead” will be on my mind for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death

j_squaredd's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Gore, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Grief, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment and Blood

mlovesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.75

This whole book is an exercise in keeping your anxiety in check.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Confinement

Moderate: Death and Gore