Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Metal From Heaven by August Clarke

7 reviews

rheagoveas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Violence, and Blood

kadomi's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

WTF did I just read? Finishing this book left me quite confounded. It had a strong start, a confusing middle, and an absolute what the fuckery ending. I haven't been so confused by a book since reading Harrow the Ninth. Speaking of that series, the middle part vaguely reminded me of Gideon the Ninth, but way less cool.

In any case, this is a challengingly written sapphic revenge story that is very anti-capitalist. The first person narrator Marney (a terrible narrator, I kinda hated her) loses her family as a kid at a peaceful worker protest. Her family all worked in the ichorite industry, a mysterious metal that is driving industry, and Marney is a so-called lustertouched, highly sensitive to this metal to the point it makes her ill, but also able to manipulate it. Marney then runs into a band of bandits, let's say they're communist, as they're also plotting to overthrow evil nobility and capitalists. Oh, and just about everyone is a 'crawly', a lesbian. 

Eventually, Marney falsely pretends to be a baron's daughter, in the running to marry the ichorite industrial's daughter, so she can finally move in and kill him to avenge her family. And then it gets weird...er, I should say.

I'll give it 3 stars because it was fascinating, but I can't honestly say I would recommend it to anyone, other than admiring that such queer literature exists today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Sexual content, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse

justalurkr's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Darker, grittier, and more explicit sex and violence than is to my taste.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child abuse and Lesbophobia

charlieeew's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

nightstitch96's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

If you enjoy books by Andrew Joseph White and/or Tamsyn Muir, you'll enjoy this. It's powerful and weird and full of love and finding where you belong and beautifully queer. Really enjoyed my time with this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Gun violence, and War

Minor: Xenophobia and Abortion

sersi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

I was so close to completely loving this (the prose is frequently tremendous and the somewhat unreliable narration kept my attention even as it confused me), but the ending didn't entirely work for me. (Although I recognize and respect it's ambition).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

queenbeemimi's review against another edition

challenging inspiring 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

5.0

This is like nothing else. Anarchist lesbian revolution core with a dating competition element and a strong revenge tale. I’ve never read a book as original as this one, and rarely one as satisfying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror