Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Leech by Hiron Ennes

43 reviews

gilroi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 I feel strange for not having more to say about this book, other than it's genuinely some of the best speculative fiction / fantasy / scifi / horror (pick one) I've read in years. It's a smooth, sleek little novel that knows exactly what it's doing and does it. While it's not perfect, I can't think of any flaw great enough to bring up in this review.

I think what I appreciate most about this novel is how much it trusts its readers, how confident it is with what it's trying to do. The twists aren't mindfucks, all reveals are telegraphed well in advance. Every change seems earned, all the dread is meaningful, and in the last sliver of the novel it goes from genre to literary, elegantly straddling both qualifiers to say something interesting, detailed, new, and worthwhile about identity, colonialism, gender, and medicine.

I cannot recommend it enough if you like a story bright with darkness, full of intention, inventive prose, lush worldbuilding, and smart narration. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Pregnancy, Classism, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Child abuse, Racism, Cursing, Death, Grief, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Colonisation, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Dysphoria, War, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

a1exander's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Medical content, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Confinement

vellumveela's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

Characterization felt a bit forced. Very atmospheric, but I felt still like much more could have been done there. Plot wasn't as deeply weird as I'd hoped it would be, which isn't to say it isn't weird as hell. But you know, if you're going to go there, and you're working with an interesting setting and cast of characters, you might as well all in, yknow?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Classism, Infertility, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Death, Medical content, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, and Ableism

Minor: Abandonment, Suicide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use

harpybuns's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

This book answers the question, what if Tamsyn Muir wrote a gothic horror novel set in a post-apocalyptic society as told by a hivemind symbiote? It's gross, it's cryptic, it's heartbreaking. I fucking loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Infertility

Minor: Animal cruelty, Grief, Vomit, and Gun violence

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

Skin-crawingly disturbing and one of the most brilliant novels I've read. Leech begins as gothic science fiction with wildly creative atmosphere and worldbuilding, then seemlessly twists into a horror story about lack of bodily autonomy. It's a scream, a vengeance, and a triumph. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Infidelity, Infertility, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse

krisalexcole's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Medical content, Pregnancy, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death

tragickore's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Body horror, and Medical content

Moderate: Kidnapping and Forced institutionalization

cold_boy's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

I adored this book. I never would have thought a Victorian Gothic horror could ever mesh with post-apocalyptic sci-fi, yet here we are. The story and the world are so meaty and dense and bizarre. Having read quite a bit of sci-fi, I can say Ennes is a master of introducing elements of a world in a way that doesn't feel jarring, and fully explaining the elements without it breaking the pacing or making it feel like the author is personally explaining the world to the audience. 

This is the horror novel I've been craving for a very long time.

Bonus audiobook narration review: I didn't realize Abigail Thorn was the narrator until I hit play, which was a pleasant surprise but I worried my familiarity with her work would distract me from the narration. Fortunately that wasn't a problem, and she absolutely embodied the characters (especially our nameless protagonist). While sometimes she came across as a bit inexperienced, I hope she keeps doing narration, because she has a very expressive and unique voice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child death, Rape, Blood, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Gore

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Body horror

Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Medical content, Blood, Violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Genocide and Alcohol

CW: loss of body autonomy, dissociation and PTSD

thehmkane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

Every hour or so, this book delivered a line or a concept or an event that made me think, gee, this it the genderiest book I've ever read. That holds true to the end. It's complex. It's unsettling. And it is determinedly not cis.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Animal death, Colonisation, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Medical content, Child death, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Stillbirth