Reviews tagging 'Death'

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

15 reviews

maaartha's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, Death of parent, Suicide, Terminal illness, Cancer, Blood, Body horror, Death, Confinement, and Gore

tortle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

fatfatrat's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Grief, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit and Pandemic/Epidemic

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was dark and haunting and harrowing. I am certain it is going to stick to my ribs for a long time. 

This book is about fathers and sons and family and grief. It is about love and loss and guilt and growth. It is about death and the desperate urgency to survive horrifying situations. It is about the ocean and the almost alien life inside it. It is about horrors both natural and man-made in origin and it is about hope.

I like my science fiction best when it is grounded firmly in realistic and believable science and Daniel Kraus met that expectation fantastically. The horror was built in layers of realism I genuinely didn't expect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Fire/Fire injury

cluelessavian's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Blood, Gore, Animal death, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Cancer, Suicide, and Confinement

Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse

Minor: Car accident

Father against "Fragile Masculinity," Acid Burns

inirac's review

adventurous challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

4.25

While I enjoyed this book I strongly recommended checking out the content warnings. I know nothing about diving or whales, but I have been in the area the characters discuss! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Cancer, Body horror, Blood, Grief, Terminal illness, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Medical content, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gore, Animal death, Medical trauma, and Confinement

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

evanmather's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Grief, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Vomit, Alcoholism, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Cancer

atalea's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Confinement

Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Animal cruelty, Blood, Alcoholism, Cancer, Suicide, Abandonment, Death, and Bullying

Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

cassie7e's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

A meditative, interminable metaphor for grief and complicated father-son relationships. (Blurb claims "scientifically accurate" - I forgive all my thoughts of "how is he not dead yet" on the basis of being metaphor.) 

Warnings:
- Emphasis on "interminable" - if you're looking for a plot heavy thriller, this is not for you. Even for me it dragged on.
- Nonlinear timeline, mimics memories bubbling up. I love this style but it's polarizing.
- Many graphic descriptions of injury and slogging through slow confused obstinate thoughts.

The acknowledgement of covid in 2021-onward parts of the timeline was startling (how long until it isn't anymore?) but it's merely part of the setting, not part of the story at least.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Suicide, Cancer, Confinement, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic