Reviews tagging 'Death'

Leech by Hiron Ennes

68 reviews

jully_bean's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

I absolutely loved this book! The strange post-apocalyptic world sucked me in and kept me wanting more information. I will say the ending was a little dull and there were a few things that never got answered or resolved, such as

what ended up happening with the twins?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Suicide, Child death, Medical content, Alcohol, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Physical abuse

samanthachen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.0

I wanted to love this book, but the perspective shifts through the main character were not for me. However, I can say that the book is beautifully written. While I gave it a 3, this has to be someone’s 5. It’s stunning. The plot is perfect in my opinion. I just had the hardest time keeping up with the hive mind. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Blood, Gore, Medical content, Vomit, and Death

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

ablanket42's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Physical abuse

Minor: Suicide

quirkydrinkerofink's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, and Body horror

Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

bea_reads_books's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child death, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Animal cruelty, and Violence

Minor: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Classism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Vomit

liltakeawaygirl's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Infertility, Violence, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Misogyny

Minor: Colonisation, Grief, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Vomit

madzsmiled's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Ennes’ debut novel is a grotesquely beautiful, apocalyptic saga of disease, human hubris, and reclaiming identity. While it took awhile for me to ground myself in the reality of the story, Ennes unveils the secrets of this world layer by layer, building out the lore with every turn of the page. The more you learn about the Institute and Pseudomycota, the more tangled their reality becomes. Humanity has to survive not only invasive parasites, but its own ego and destruction. Every reveal hits you harder than the last. 

 

Definitely would recommend, but please read the content warnings. This one is a doozie, but oh so good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Gore, Death, Miscarriage, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Body horror, Murder, Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical trauma

ronfinkleburg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Body horror

Moderate: Rape

Intriguing ride that has loads of twists and turns- a gothic sci-fi tale to sink your teeth into.

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

 

Context:

I added Leech by Hiron Ennes to my TBR after hearing Kayla from BooksandLala recommend it. I borrowed it from my library through the Libby app.

 

Review:

I approached Leech with some trepidation based on the reviews I’ve encountered. However, I am immensely impressed by the book’s originality—in fact, Leech is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. I mean that as a compliment. Ennes crafts a world completely unlike anything I’ve ever read before with the precision of a surgeon. Everything feels deliberate and focused, from the French-inspired dialect spoken by some of the characters to the peculiarities of the setting. They use this specific setting and cast of characters to explore parasitism in many different forms, from the supernatural to the everyday.  I am also impressed with the book’s writing style, which is powerful and effective without being flowery. 

 

Despite my fascination with the world and my appreciation for Ennes’s writing, I did find myself somewhat reluctant to pick up the book at times. The book does not provide a strong “hook” for the reader to latch onto, either narratively or through its characters. Even well into the book, it is unclear which characters, if any, deserve our sympathy. Additionally, the narrative style of the book is inherently confusing due to the protagonist’s situation (I’m being intentionally vague here to avoid spoilers), and the murky positions of the side characters. If you’re looking for a book that prioritizes clarity and accessibility, you might want to look elsewhere.

 

There are a couple of other minor aspects of this book that didn’t quite work for me. The first is that it uses two characters that are twins in a very stereotypical and dehumanizing manner common to horror books that, in my opinion, did not add much to the story. The second is that the ending appears to abandon the character journey of the protagonist for another character; I would have liked a little bit more closure for the protagonist.

 

Leech will not be for everyone, but I loved its thematic explorations, writing style, and unique premise and worldbuilding. These elements were strong enough to overcome some problems I had with the narrative. 

 

The Run-Down: 

You might like Leech if . . . 

·      You are looking for a book with a very unique premise and world

·      You prefer deliberately crafted settings and characters to sweeping, epic fantasy/sci-fi tales

·      You are interested in a thematic exploration of parasitism

·      You like eerie, gory horror stories that do not deign to explain everything to the reader

 

You might not like Leech if . . . 

·      You are sensitive to the book’s triggers (please look at them before reading; they won’t spoil anything!)

·      You dislike experimental narrative premises

·      You like a story with a strong narrative driving force

·      You dislike complex plotlines that leave many questions unanswered

 

 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Medical trauma, and Gun violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Infertility, Animal death, and Vomit

Minor: Classism, Ableism, Racism, Suicide, and Sexism

bumblebeefarts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Miscarriage, Infertility, Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Pregnancy, and Medical content

Moderate: Rape, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, and Classism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Chronic illness