Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

124 reviews

carodunn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Medical content, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Body horror

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Dysphoria, Gore, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse

simmich429's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Body horror, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Abandonment, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Medical content, and Child death

mobymaize'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

4.5

Yeah, I mean it's fucking Frankenstein, like you got to read it. It is the first sci-fi novel, of course you have to read it. ALSO READ THE 1818 VERSION, IT'S A LOT BETTER.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Slavery, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Incest, Medical content, Murder, and Racism

freesiaelect's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror

kierank's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Transgender awakening 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror, Xenophobia, Violence, and Suicide

themorsecode's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

I started reading this mid-last year then just put it down for ages, not entirely sure why as it's an engaging and interesting read; despite the over-florid Victorian prose.  Going in reasonably cold beyond the general cultural knowledge of the story, the book wasn't quite what I had anticipated (in a 'positive' way), although tricky to read without picturing the iconic Hollywood depictions of both Victor and the monster.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Abandonment, Body horror, and Stalking

euphemiajo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Stalking, Slavery, Gore, and Grief

kaetheluise_nckl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Murder, Body horror, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

bookshelfmystic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

 Reading a formative work of a genre can sometimes be disappointing. We're so used to the ideas and tropes by now that the original thoughts in early works can feel trite. I didn't really like Neuromancer, for example, because the cyberpunk ideas it introduced to the world felt like old hat by the time I read it in the 2010s. (Among other reasons.)

However, Frankenstein is so much more than one of the first science fiction novels. Even if it weren't, seeing how the genre has evolved over 200 years is interesting enough: so much time has passed that sci-fi is really different now. But beyond that, Frankenstein grapples with lofty questions in the tradition of the best speculative fiction. Ideas of parenthood, ambition, what we owe to our creation, and what our Creator owes to us are explored through the story of Frankenstein and his creature. Amidst all this, we have chase scenes, murder mysteries, and lengthy, lengthy monologues of the sort of 19th-century writing that I quite enjoy (but I recognize it's not for everyone).

A few things surprised me, especially since we tend to have a collective notion of Frankenstein('s monster) that differs substantially from the original material. This is one of my favorite parts about reading classics: discovering the source of cultural ideas and seeing how they have evolved. Anyway, some surprises:
- Frankenstein built his creation in his college dorm, not a lightning-struck castle.
- Frankenstein is incredibly emo.
- The creature is super well-spoken and intelligent, not a groaning, shuffling monster.
- Neither Frankenstein nor his creature have much moral high ground. You can understand where the creature is coming from and feel pity for him, but he gives off major incel vibes when he keeps killing Frankenstein's family because he doesn't have a wife.

Frankenstein is a classic that's well worth the time, and in fact is quite readable compared to some other classic novels. I continue my streak of really enjoying 19th-century writing, and I'm happy to add another female author to that list. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Murder