Reviews tagging 'Murder'

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

19 reviews

brianareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Police brutality, and Gun violence

marcostorin's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

This book is amazing anarchist fiction. I don't know if the author considers himself an anarchist, but that is irrelevant, the themes and how they're handled speak for themselves - and that's without mentioning obvious references at anarchism, like Ursula K Le Guin and the title itself. It hit me hard and I can't wait for the next two books of the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Addiction, Death, Murder, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Torture, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cannibalism, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, and Transphobia

gilnean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Deadnaming, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Eating disorder, and Vomit

Minor: Excrement, Sexual content, and Pedophilia

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, Abandonment, and Gore

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Stalking, and Torture

anna_hepworth's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.5

This is beautifully written, with complex world building, a plethora of viewpoint characters, and there is just too much going on -- I kept losing track of who was who, which bits went together, etc. Not helped by there being multiple time lines, and never being sure that the stories were in the same time line. Oh, and the omniscient narrator who is a complex character in their own right.

I respect that the author is doing something sweeping and large, with conspiracy theories, secret organisations trying to rule the world (or something) and great historical changes that are of the 'at best make sense afterwards' type. But it didn't work for me, and I don't think I would read more in this world. But I will look for more by this author, because they can certainly write, and I have hopes that some of their other work will be more to my level. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Torture

Moderate: Police brutality

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, and Hate crime

Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Police brutality, Racism, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Blood, and Drug abuse

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Cancer, Mental illness, Suicide, and Terminal illness

obscurepages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Wow wow wow. This took me on quite a ride and made me question what we know about the world.

It dove into the paranormal/supernatural, the secret organizations, the magic and the scientific theories that surround us, the reality that we know, the hardships that people go through, the society and the system we live in.

Another thing that really impressed me is the writing style and the prose. It was dark and eerie and so captivating. And the fact that the author blended horror, fantasy, and science fiction and he did it so brilliantly. 😭👏

There are a lot of characters and it can get confusing/hard to keep up. However, the way these different characters and their perspectives intertwine was so cool and impressive. (And hello??? That unnamed narrator?!) Kudos to the author for creating such an intricate yet satisfying network of point of views.

I really enjoyed reading this y'all. This one surprised me and I loved it!

E-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Full review soon! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

There is some serious world-building mindfuckery on display in this book. The writing is spare and stunning, drawing up images, emotions, and philosophical questions with apparent ease. The narration style confused me at first, not because it is poorly done but because it intends to obscure. We have a seemingly invisible observer as a first-person narrator popping in and out of third-person narration surrounding interconnected but distinct people and plots. I found this an intriguing approach, especially because each person was magnetic even as they were enigmatic. My favorite character was Ridley, an anarchist and worker-owner of a co-op bookstore, who also happens to be an ace trans man. The different characters lead us through the moments where they are pivotal actors or key witnesses in a historic shift for humanity. There is something more natural about this multifaceted approach than following in the wake of a single hero who sees and does everything herself.

I'll keep the discussion of plot brief because I don't want to ruin the experience of seeing the mysteries unfold as the author intends. The gist is this: in the near future, humanity fractures open at the revelation of monsters among us, leading to violence, hatred, and the unveiling of long-pursued secret agendas. The conflicts among many factions will sow chaos on a massive scale.

This eerie fantasy has elements of physics and monster lore spread across a vast landscape, only the first tentative venture in what will require greater exploration. It covers harsh and relevant topics of structural violence, capitalism, abuse, and drug addiction while also peering into philosophical debate about choice and meaning that will take significant time and thought to percolate.

Thanks to Blackstone and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this cleverly woven tapestry of a book, out 9/7.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Pedophilia

Minor: Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Transphobia

gideonrose's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

Wildly complex and interesting. I loved the characters, and the queer diversity among them. The end was a bit abrupt, and I wanted more from it, especially with the development of <the secret societies.>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, and Violence