Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Die leuchtenden Toten by Caitlin Starling

26 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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hzamrzla's review against another edition

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

3.0

I loved the premise and voice of this book, but the pacing and actual plot were so hard to stick with. There is only one REAL conflict: whether or not Gyre trusts Em, and we revisit it about 8 times with no real resolution. Reluctant trust, big betrayal, insistence on doing it alone, horrible failure due to the decision to do it alone, rinse, repeat. 

Specifically, I got so frustrated with Gyre by the end because of her
constantly refusing to let Em guide/medicate/STOP her, doing something stupid, and then being in a rage that Em didn’t guide/medicate/STOP her
. This happening once or twice seemed reasonable, and then for it to KEEP happening, as the only source of action in the book, felt contrived. 

Also, I hate
“turns out it was all in your head”
books. 

It got old, which is sad. 

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hailstorm3812's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

This is not my typical read but I actually liked it. It is tense, interesting, and a little trippy. I am not entirely satisfied on how the mystery ends up but the characterization and relationships more than make up for it. I really like the main character and think everyone reacts in ridiculous but realistic ways of a person in these circumstances. I had to stop listening a few times because I was stressed out, but I still really enjoyed it.

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smarzipan's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5


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pocketsknight's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked this well enough, but I was expecting to adore it. So comparatively, I am still disappointed.

On paper, this has everything I love: ruthless women who are also the main characters, a lot of focus on a deep but antagonistic relationship, a creepy atmosphere...
But for some reason it never clicked. Despite the ordeals Gyre had to go through, I never truly did get attached to her. Or to Em.

Now, this isn't a criticism to the author's writing abilities: I simply believe her writing style may not agree with me all the way. That's fine. It happens. It's a shame that this happened to an author who has such compeling ideas. 

I will keep an eye on what she writes in the future. I won't read everything, but if one of her books seem compelling enough I will try again.

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booitsnathalie's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

3.5


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shadowspinner's review against another edition

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

5.0


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ronniethereader's review against another edition

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

4.0


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j_squaredd's review against another edition

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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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kt_jams's review against another edition

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

4.75


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