Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

19 reviews

jomojobo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Wow. Wow wow wow. Talk about a tense emotional roller coaster! As usual, King brings characters to life in a way that few other authors can. Their motivations, emotions, and responses feel realistic, even when the plot requires suspension of disbelief. Though this isn’t necessarily a “horror” novel, it’s plenty horrific, and even the slow parts maintain a sense of foreboding. Our antagonist and his thought process are also particularly relevant given the state of the alt-right manosphere today.

There was a stretch of several pages (and there is always a stretch of several pages in a King book) that I just skipped right over because it was too distressing.

Freddy’s final disposition.

 

I wasn’t sure while reading if I would continue with the series, but after finishing Mr. Mercedes I will definitely be checking out book #2!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Pedophilia, Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, and Classism

veronikar's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Incest, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

outofthepinksky's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Drug use, Infidelity, and Police brutality

brendontyler's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol

eadrianschmitz's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.5

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

I don't like the way he writes about the female characters, and if you can get over the unrealistic progression of the plot, it's a pretty good story. Two minor things from the first scene that drove me crazy: Costco doesn't have bags, misuse of the term "baby mama". Can recommend audiobook. Great narrator.

fkshg8465's review against another edition

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

4.0

I love the Holly Gibney character so much, and she’s brilliant here! The trio team she supports has great chemistry. Love the intergenerational relationship between Bill, Jerome, and Holly. Her mom is a bit too much to handle, and Janey needed more story, but overall, a disgusting villain and a lot of great cat and mouse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

jonssweater's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Dementia, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Fire/Fire injury

honkinggoose's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Incest, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

michaelavictoria's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Stalking

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

thematicaudience's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

One of my absolute favorites of Stephen Kings novels, especially due to its introduction of one of my favorite characters of his, Holly Gibney. Not only that, but the mass murderer is very well written, and realistically at that. Not to mention how many twist and turns kept me engaged and loving every second of the chase.

That being said, there were a couple too many slurs being thrown around by Brady Hartsfield for personal comfort, even though they had purpose in showing his character, especially aimed at poc throughout, and disabled people later on in the novel. Holly Gibney also does not show up until about 2/3rds of the novel is done, and female love interest leading up to her arrival I did not find nearly as remarkable. Her character was bland and while I was surprised by her sudden death, I could not say I was necessarily upset by it.

 
I also am in general not a fan of sex scenes, and the ones in this were particularly hard to sit through, though skimming helped, however that may be personal preference, and they at least served a purpose.
However, ultimately, the whole thing was incredibly enjoyable and a favorite of mine. Definitely a great start to a trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Racism, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Almost all horrific acts, ableism, racism, etc are done by the main antagonist or those related to him, though there are minor instances of ableism and fatphobia put forward by who we are rooting for.