Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

127 reviews

aedoran08's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Rape

bellebeaumont95's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense

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

4.25

 Brutal and beautiful in the same degree, The Salt Grows Heavy is a horror novella about narratives of power, and about two people shaped and rebuilt by horrifically traumatic events choosing to stay together.

The writing is lovely, if a little overdone, coloring the scenes in a way that had me both flinching away and immediately coming back, mesmerized. I would have liked to spend a little more time with the two main characters (who I found fascinating) and exploring their relationship, but as the horror fairy tale it is, the brevity works.

In my questionable habit of comparing things to other things, I might describe this as "What if The VVitch (2015) had a crossover with The Language of Thorns, written by the authors of This Is How You Lose The Time War . (All things I LOVE, so this is high praise). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Cannibalism, Violence, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Torture, Gore, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Vomit

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.75

Took me a while to get into but once the main characters had an actual goal i was hooked. Gorgeous writing and creative similes; you either spend a very long time reading it to catch everything or you can find new things upon rereading it. The body horror is also very graphic in a lyrical way. I have no idea, where the setting was supposed to be, how the world or magic works. This felt like history, fantasy, and postapocalyptic at once and I didn't even mind. Also yes to violent reinterpretations of mermaids; beings from the ocean are terrifying and this should apply to mythological male fantasies as well.

Also I wasn't expecting the most raw love confession followed by torture followed by characters dying several times followed by a Frankensteinesque scene that had me giggling (??) and I still haven't processed it.

I was expecting the body horror, but not body horror mixed with so many emotions it was WILD.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Gore, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence

lakinlindsey's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, War, Kidnapping, Medical content, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Slavery, Child death, Gore, Death, Murder, Rape, Violence, and Torture

kylasmv15's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Death, Child abuse, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Murder, and Torture

r_o_s_e's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Medical content, Child death, and Confinement

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, and Cannibalism

thecaffeinatedlibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

5.0

A story that is at once grotesque, and cosy. Hannibal meets The Little Mermaid in this dark horror novella, and I loved every single minute of it!

I had no idea what to expect from this novella, but I was immediately sold with two words: mermaid, plague doctor. I didn’t need anymore convincing.

This has some horrifyingly beautiful writing, prose that is so shocking and visual that you don’t know whether to be disgusted or awed. It is perfectly paced, and flows like a whirling cursive script. This story accomplishes so, SO much in 128 pages. It is atmospheric, horrifying and deeply romantic. 

I highly recommend this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Misogyny, Death, and Violence

sxndaze's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense 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

4.25

Tell me: is your joy sweeter for your knowledge of what it is like to die? Do you enjoy every sunset better? Or does it stain you, follow like the whisper of a nightmare that will not end with your waking?

Gorgeously written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Torture and Pregnancy

caitlinemccann's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Gore, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Torture, Murder, Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Rape and Pregnancy

infinitelibrary's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Blood

Moderate: Torture, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Violence, and Miscarriage