Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

54 reviews

iviarelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

I might compare this to other media, as is so common, as "Wilder Girls meets Westworld", with a heavy hand on the "mind the content warnings". As a survivor of parental abuse, not entirely unlike Evelyn's either, I... almost feel like I shouldn't enjoy this as much as I do? As someone whose worst fear is becoming like my father, there's a strange catharsis in this story and its ending. That is VERY much YMMV and it will NOT resonate that way for all survivors, and don't feel obligated to keep going if it gets to be too much for you as an individual... but gosh. I really, really liked this one. I like that everything that should be portrayed as horrific, is. Everyone who is terrible, is shown in gory detail to be so. There's nothing sympathetic about anyone in this story... and yet, there is so much care at the same time.

I dunno. I don't think I've read a story by Sarah Gailey that didn't fuck with me for a few days afterward, but I also love what they put into their work, the themes they explore, and more importantly perhaps, the way they explore them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion and Car accident

reading_bug's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcoholism and Car accident

nxclx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such an interesting read, and while not the "nonstop thrill" that the synopsis said that it would be, I found it captivating and thought provoking. Personally, I think it reads more as a novella, with limited characters and a somewhat vague and limited setting. Kind of a mix of This is How You Lose the Time War mixed with the gore of Wilder Girls or The Grace Year. It didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, but rather had me calmly bracing for what was to come next, as if I was in the narrators shoes. It worked really well for me and I'll definitely be checking out the authors other works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Gore

Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit

jpellwood's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Murder, and Pregnancy

sarahholliday's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The Echo Wife is part of a growing trend in both science fiction and fantasy that favors character-driven stories over plot-centric narratives. Being a fan of plot-driven works myself (the more world building the better), it took me a while to adjust to The Echo Wife's slower pace and fairly narrow narrative scope. 

By the end, though, I was in awe of what Gailey managed to accomplish. On top of pondering the ethics of cloning, which, though interesting, isn't necessarily breaking new ground within the Sci-fi genre, Gailey crafts an expert murder mystery. 

Through it all, we're in Evelyn's head as she navigates an increasingly precarious relationship with her clone. And my favorite element of the story was the way in which she constantly orbits her abusive father's influence on her life and personality. When Evelyn tells us, "I'm not a monster" in the final pages of the book, it reads as both a prayer and a defense. Given all that we've read, we aren't supposed to accept her at her word.

Overall, an incredibly smart and emotionally taut novel that combines the best of the science fiction, mystery, and domestic thriller genres.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, and Pregnancy

lexarch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Medical content, Gore, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Murder

shelfmadewoman's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

You won’t find me reading a lot of domestic thrillers... but you can certainly find me picking up a domestic thriller by Sarah Gailey that are about... well... what this is about. I suggest not looking at the summary before reading if you can bear it. As with most thrillers, its best to go in with a blank slate!

Without getting into any specifics, I can tell you that Gailey goes beyond the surface ideas of the story and explores ethics and consent in a new way.

I liked it a lot! It was twisty as heck! I would do it again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

birdbrainbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

3.8 - What a WILD ride of a book! I suggest going into this one without knowing many details—although note that it’s not for the weak of stomach (gore). Scientist Evelyn has won an award for inventing the ability to create adult human clones—at the same moment her husband leaves her for another woman. Who is that woman? Buckle your seatbelt for many plot twists. This book is sci-fi and a bit thriller, while also packing in a lot of character building and introspection (some of which can be a little repetitive at times). I loved the unexpected turns the story and relationship building took between the main characters and will definitely be reading more from Sarah Gailey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

aerialcataloger's review against another edition

dark reflective tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, and Murder

Minor: Abortion

kkpwnall's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt