Reviews tagging 'Gore'

The Bright Lands by John Fram

8 reviews

cameronpetrovich's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Murder, Homophobia, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction

ramintah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Murder, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

ashcrash's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

love the classic “horror lurking beneath a tiny town,” and it’s executed v well. characters are flawed but lovable and their relationships are real. think IT mixed with a gritty teen drama. a few too many characters to keep track of for my brain.

the ending was honestly very anticlimatic for me, and the main reason i didn’t give this a higher rating. as compelling as the beginning and middle is, it builds so much that when we actually get the reveal it isn’t as interesting as the fake outs and proposed theories we got earlier, which is sad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, and Racism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Toxic friendship

mr_cain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

This book has so many twists and turns, it's a beautiful maze. It had me sobbing at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cursing, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Homophobia

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Vomit, and Addiction

eegrasse's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Suicide, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit

aromarrie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

katelynprice's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I was really into the mood, atmosphere, and mystery of this book. The first 70% was really good, and then...it got weird. I realize that there is a social commentary going on here, but I am just not a fan of the execution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, and Homophobia

folkmare's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

There are a lot of mixed reviews on this book and I think the reason is this: if you're not queer, this book isn't for you, and it doesn't care. That doesn't mean you CAN'T enjoy this book if you're not queer, it just means that it's not going to apologize and hold your hand. Additonally, if you aren't queer AND grew up in a small/medium town where high school football reigns supreme, you quite literally might just not get it.

This book is ultimately about internalized homophobia, toxic masculinity, and small town secrets closing the walls in around you. I won't spoil anything but I saw a review that called the supernatural elements a "twist" that happened 3/4ths of the way through, but I gotta say that that person just wasn't paying attention. There is spooky shit happening from chapter one, and it's not even that subtle.

I don't know. I really loved this. I thought the crime/thriller mystery elements were really well balanced with the horror-elements and the world building. I found the characters compelling even if they're not "likeable," and I couldn't stop reading it.

Note: I'm adding content warnings but the warnings themselves might spoil the book somewhat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide

In regards to the spooky stuff not being obvious, I turned to my wife like 5 chapters in and said "idk I think there's a malevolent old god out in the desert and people are getting sacrificed to it, we'll see."