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lee_readsbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
itsa_mario's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
sigynmoon's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
trudilibrarian's review
4.0
Yowzers, this is some pretty sick, disturbing shit, but I'm not going to label it 'torture porn'. The Fallen Boys avoids that fate by offering: 1) a solid story that takes its time to unfold and 2) strongly developed characters who I spent pretty much the entire novel scared to death for their safety.
The tension throughout the story is coiled and lethal. While there are a few uneven parts where the momentum lags for a bit and seems to meander, overall it is a pacing that builds, and builds and continues to build towards a crashing climax. At times I couldn't move my eyes fast enough across the page just to get to the next scene and towards some sense of light and hope. Let me end the suspense right now -- there is no light and hope. I'm sorry if you think that's spoilery, but I want you to know what you're up against before you pick it up. This book is unrelentingly dark and damaged and absolutely merciless as it moves towards its final destination. I also loved that there were a few twists thrown into this story that I didn't quite see coming.
The ending -- argh!!!!!
Spoiler
Did everyone have to die? Really? Throw me a bone here. I was SO UPSET at the utter carnage. Even Marshall dies, right? The rats get him. What a way to go! Oh wait, we should assume there is one survivor: When Jenn Kyoto stumbles out of the forest and meets Joe he takes her to the police station. I don't think he would have done that if he had killed her or was going to kill her. So amen, one survivor.While not quite as strong as these horror classics of the same ilk, this book could keep company with [b:The Summer I Died|891472|The Summer I Died|Ryan C. Thomas|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179233761s/891472.jpg|876713], [b:The Girl Next Door|179735|The Girl Next Door|Jack Ketchum|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298460378s/179735.jpg|1109091], and [b:Let's Go Play At The Adams'|477801|Let's Go Play At The Adams'|Mendal W. Johnson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1326428642s/477801.jpg|465995]. That is the highest compliment I can pay, believe me. If you have the stomach and nerves for dark, damaged and desperate, this is the book for you.
shamwow2000's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
This book started off really good. The first half had me hooked.
Unfortunately, the second half devolves into utter madness. The plot twists become more and more nonsensical, and so many characters are introduced only to disappear pages later or to serve as canon fodder. Almost every plot line feels incomplete, and those that don’t are unsatisfying.
I’m fine with extreme horror; in fact, it’s my favorite genre. My problem with this novel is that it makes no sense.
Unfortunately, the second half devolves into utter madness. The plot twists become more and more nonsensical, and so many characters are introduced only to disappear pages later or to serve as canon fodder. Almost every plot line feels incomplete, and those that don’t are unsatisfying.
I’m fine with extreme horror; in fact, it’s my favorite genre. My problem with this novel is that it makes no sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Ableism, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Abortion, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Excrement, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Bullying, Cancer, Infertility, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Car accident and Homophobia
typicalbooks's review
4.0
The Fallen boys had a few things going for it that made me excited to read it. The trailer was fab. The cover art is compelling. The blurbs were a great tease.
Overall, it was a great story and fairly original which is tough these days. There is nothing new under the sun, but Dries language sheds a dark light on familiar situations.
If you liked characters like Hayley Stark in Hard Candy and the Killer in Haute Tension, then you will find those extremes here. On the flip-side, there are regular-ish everyday-type guys and gals with enough edge to be likable and enough soft spots to be realistic. I guess the same could be said for the story itself.
Where I deduct a star (or only a half-star if I could)is for some overly long passages that only a parent could love... and even then one with a flair for sympathy. That is only a part of it, the rest is style. Italics were used quite heavily and in several spots took away from the rhythm for me. The memories being in italics made sense, but i prefer them as a light seasoning only in the plain body. Then a few typos, but that is not the fault of the author in my opinion. The content easily smooths out these small bumps, since it is a damn good read.
It is not torture-porn, not at all. What it is, however, is a fairly articulate portrayal of the darkness of a damaged soul. Then, a few souls spiral downward together, and we get to watch.
Overall, it was a great story and fairly original which is tough these days. There is nothing new under the sun, but Dries language sheds a dark light on familiar situations.
If you liked characters like Hayley Stark in Hard Candy and the Killer in Haute Tension, then you will find those extremes here. On the flip-side, there are regular-ish everyday-type guys and gals with enough edge to be likable and enough soft spots to be realistic. I guess the same could be said for the story itself.
Where I deduct a star (or only a half-star if I could)is for some overly long passages that only a parent could love... and even then one with a flair for sympathy. That is only a part of it, the rest is style. Italics were used quite heavily and in several spots took away from the rhythm for me. The memories being in italics made sense, but i prefer them as a light seasoning only in the plain body. Then a few typos, but that is not the fault of the author in my opinion. The content easily smooths out these small bumps, since it is a damn good read.
It is not torture-porn, not at all. What it is, however, is a fairly articulate portrayal of the darkness of a damaged soul. Then, a few souls spiral downward together, and we get to watch.
ericarobyn's review
4.0
The Fallen Boys by Aaron Dries is a wicked dark, twisted tale filled with very graphic situations that will make you cringe! But like all my favorite twisted tales, there was also a lot of heart, hope, and determination.
Trigger Warning: Suicide
Ooooh this book. It’s another one that’s impossible to discuss as I think you’d best go in blind. In my notes below, I will discuss two elements that I loved, but I won’t speak about the plot.
I had two favorite elements of this story; the gore and the descriptive writing. Each of which could go hand in and and play off one another wonderfully, or they could be used as a stark contrast between the lighter scenes versus the dark scenes.
So first we have the body horror. My god, I was so uncomfortable reading quite a bit of the scenes here… and it’s really difficult to make me squeamish! It was all written perfectly. It was certainly very vivid in many scenes. I loved that the author took things right up to the line, and then sometimes took a large step over the line. Each time that happened, I couldn’t help but cringe! But even so, the author didn’t over do any of the scenes with too much detail that could bog the story down.
Then we have the descriptive writing. As you can take away from my paragraph above, the description related to the violence was intense! But there were also plenty of really beautiful chapters about certain characters lives that was absolutely beautiful. I mean, just the way characters described or thought about their loved ones was so heartwarming. I found that even if I didn’t want to feel for specific characters, some of the beautiful character-building chapters had me waffling. But more importantly, it was the little things that were perfectly described that really got me. Like the description of light coming in through a window or the movement of a girls hair.
My Favorite Passages
Starke entered his house a detective, slipped off his shoes and became a husband and father.
He went to the refrigerator and opened the door, looking for answers to mysteries he would never comprehend. He closed it and settled for water instead.
Napier was surprised by how easily it was to get Joe to come around. Almost too quick, really. But then again, the best monsters are born of desperation.
…change is never easy and is often unwelcome. But that doesn’t stop it from coming your way. You can’t cheat change, just like you can’t cheat the hands were dealt.
My Final Thoughts
My toes will always hurt when thinking about this tale. Eek! Such a heartbreaking and absolutely brutal tale.
In this book, there was a quick mention of a certain bus driving character that got me curious. When I googled, I saw that she appears in another of Aaron’s tales. Guess I’ll have to pick that one up soon!
I highly recommend this one if you enjoy body horror and don’t mind a little darkness.
Trigger Warning: Suicide
Ooooh this book. It’s another one that’s impossible to discuss as I think you’d best go in blind. In my notes below, I will discuss two elements that I loved, but I won’t speak about the plot.
I had two favorite elements of this story; the gore and the descriptive writing. Each of which could go hand in and and play off one another wonderfully, or they could be used as a stark contrast between the lighter scenes versus the dark scenes.
So first we have the body horror. My god, I was so uncomfortable reading quite a bit of the scenes here… and it’s really difficult to make me squeamish! It was all written perfectly. It was certainly very vivid in many scenes. I loved that the author took things right up to the line, and then sometimes took a large step over the line. Each time that happened, I couldn’t help but cringe! But even so, the author didn’t over do any of the scenes with too much detail that could bog the story down.
Then we have the descriptive writing. As you can take away from my paragraph above, the description related to the violence was intense! But there were also plenty of really beautiful chapters about certain characters lives that was absolutely beautiful. I mean, just the way characters described or thought about their loved ones was so heartwarming. I found that even if I didn’t want to feel for specific characters, some of the beautiful character-building chapters had me waffling. But more importantly, it was the little things that were perfectly described that really got me. Like the description of light coming in through a window or the movement of a girls hair.
My Favorite Passages
Starke entered his house a detective, slipped off his shoes and became a husband and father.
He went to the refrigerator and opened the door, looking for answers to mysteries he would never comprehend. He closed it and settled for water instead.
Napier was surprised by how easily it was to get Joe to come around. Almost too quick, really. But then again, the best monsters are born of desperation.
…change is never easy and is often unwelcome. But that doesn’t stop it from coming your way. You can’t cheat change, just like you can’t cheat the hands were dealt.
My Final Thoughts
My toes will always hurt when thinking about this tale. Eek! Such a heartbreaking and absolutely brutal tale.
In this book, there was a quick mention of a certain bus driving character that got me curious. When I googled, I saw that she appears in another of Aaron’s tales. Guess I’ll have to pick that one up soon!
I highly recommend this one if you enjoy body horror and don’t mind a little darkness.
lauriereadslohf's review
4.0
This book lulls you in with a quiet, insidious sort of horror then takes a turn down torture lane and I was absolutely not at all prepared (despite being warned).
Honestly, as I was reading I was wondering why so many reviews were making such a big deal out of the gore level. It wasn’t any worse than most horror novels I’ve read and most of the terror came from real life fears. Sure, what happens was heartbreaking and tragic but what wimps these other people must be, thought I, all smug and desensitized. But then, just as I was feeling like nothing would ever bother me again (and wondering if the problem might be me), I was hit with some truly disturbing images and a despair that doesn’t ever let you go. Yep, it’s gross, it’s horribly disturbing and it’s all up in your face. Everything they said before me? It’s true.
I’m not going to ruin the plot mainly because I’m just too lazy. I’ll just say it’s about love, family, grief and all of the ugly emotions that’ll tear you apart. And then throw in a madman or two and some flesh eating piggies and a giant Mason jar that'll give you nightmares.
This was a rough read, I cannot lie, and it took me weeks to finish. Not because the writing was awful (it wasn’t) or because the character were jerks (the innocents were not) but because it was so incredibly bleak. I think I’m the one getting whimpy because I had to take breaks even before the atrocities and body horror smacked me in the face. There’s only so much despair one can take in a sitting . . .
This was the epitome of life: graceless torture.
Honestly, as I was reading I was wondering why so many reviews were making such a big deal out of the gore level. It wasn’t any worse than most horror novels I’ve read and most of the terror came from real life fears. Sure, what happens was heartbreaking and tragic but what wimps these other people must be, thought I, all smug and desensitized. But then, just as I was feeling like nothing would ever bother me again (and wondering if the problem might be me), I was hit with some truly disturbing images and a despair that doesn’t ever let you go. Yep, it’s gross, it’s horribly disturbing and it’s all up in your face. Everything they said before me? It’s true.
I’m not going to ruin the plot mainly because I’m just too lazy. I’ll just say it’s about love, family, grief and all of the ugly emotions that’ll tear you apart. And then throw in a madman or two and some flesh eating piggies and a giant Mason jar that'll give you nightmares.
This was a rough read, I cannot lie, and it took me weeks to finish. Not because the writing was awful (it wasn’t) or because the character were jerks (the innocents were not) but because it was so incredibly bleak. I think I’m the one getting whimpy because I had to take breaks even before the atrocities and body horror smacked me in the face. There’s only so much despair one can take in a sitting . . .
This was the epitome of life: graceless torture.
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