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taserface's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
aetherkids's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death
missbrookss's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Murder, Body horror, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Gore, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Child death
rorikae's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
We follow a doctor, a member of the Institute, who is heading up into the mountains. One of their colleagues has died and they are seeking answers for their death as well as taking up a position as the doctor at the baron’s Chateau. But when they arrive, they learn that a creeping force is threatening the town and may have directly contributed to their predecessor's death.
Ennes’ writing is lush and descriptive. They bring you directly into the setting and story and refuse to let you go until the end. Their writing makes the body horror both fascinating and hard to read, which I think is a true mark of a good author. This is a story about possession, agency, and trauma. Set in a post apocalyptic world that gives hints to the world that preceded it, Ennes drops world building moments casually throughout. Though I don’t think more world building was needed to enjoy the story, Ennes has created such an engaging world that I want a full series that explores what happened and what will happen next. The ending was a bit abrupt and I was hoping for a bit more but it also fits the story so I wasn’t unsatisfied.
I cannot wait for what Ennes writes next because they have proven in 'Leech' that they are a superb horror writer. If you are looking for horror set during the winter months, you must pick up 'Leech.'
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Suicide
chessakat's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Infertility, Sexual violence, Child death, Confinement, Rape, Animal death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
hellocath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Pregnancy, Death, Murder, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Child death, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Classism
Minor: Colonisation, Infertility, Cursing, Drug use, and Infidelity
sarah984's review against another edition
- 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
I really enjoyed this book's themes of identity and autonomy, and the use of language to denote the state of the main character is fantastic, however I dropped a star because I felt the ending was kind of weak and I don't like tropes that involve a race of people being genetically predisposed to certain knowledge and this winds up doing that a bit. Overall though, if you want something original and you've got a strong stomach I would heartily recommend it.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Misogyny, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child abuse, and Genocide
Parasite/bug/worm content Mind control Graphic birth sceneobatan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Death, and Physical abuse
enchantressreads's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I usually prefer to read shorter books, but this is the rare exception that I wish the book was longer. At 336 pages, I felt that there was still so much unexplored that could have been fleshed out. Because of this, I’ve given Leech a moderate 3.5 star rating. Not bad, as I did enjoy the story, but I wanted so much more out of it.
A doctor who is part of the Interprovincial Medical Institute makes the journey to Chateau de Verdira to find out why one of its bodies has died. The doctors of the Institute are connected as part of a hive mind, but it seems this one has gone off on their own. The Institute’s bodies are sexless, nameless humanoids whose only job is to be doctors. When Doc gets to the chateau, however, they find that the doctor, who named himself Stanislas, has a mysterious fungus or pathogen growing in his eyeball. This caused him to take his own life.
There was so much to this novel, that it felt rushed. As soon as you got into one part of the story, it quickly moved to another part. The general plot was very interesting, and we all know I love a good microbe story, but it definitely felt lost. It was reminiscent of the gothic age, and having read What Moves the Dead recently, I had pretty high hopes. This wasn’t my favorite novel, but I still want to recommend it to anyone who loves fungus as much as I do, as well as a nice gothic story.
Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.
CW for body horror, death, animal death, suicide, human experimentation, domestic violence, blood, graphic birth scene, animal cruelty, emotional abuse, death of a child, disease, and fire
Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, and Child death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Domestic abuse
human experimentation, graphic birth scenemagneticcrow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Torture, and Blood