Reviews

This story is exceptionally grotesque, depraved, and disgusting... and I loved every moment of it!

Before considering reading this book, understand that it is a splatterpunk novel. This is not a book I could in good conscious recommend to a friend who wasn't a serious horror fan. It does not shy away from gore, and it contains cannibalism, necrophilia, abuse, and other disturbing elements. However, if you have the stomach for this sort of thing, it's an excellent read. The relationship between the two killers is fascinating and complicated. I love that the chapters shift between different characters' perspectives. The novel offers a surprisingly insightful look into the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and how the gay male population was affected by the deadly disease and its immense losses. The story is dark and sad and was a painful and enjoyable read. Some of the most beautiful prose I've had the pleasure of reading - even when describing sadistic, brutal things.

relly621's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

brutallybookish's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.5

This book is very beautifully written, and I enjoyed the voice and style. Even while providing a thrilling story of two depraved serial killers, the story discusses many diverse points of view through different characters in the LGBT community and their experiences which were emotional and interesting. The pacing of the plot was a bit slower than I expected, but still very entertaining and engaging. Though the style is a bit more poetic, this is still a graphic and horrifying book, and seeing all the points of view come together at the close was bittersweet, and I could not have predicted the ending. A bit of a challenging read for me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

Content Warnings

saltedcaeyos's review against another edition

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Reading this book felt like noticing a really, really, bad accident, and wanting to look away, but simultaneously not being able to.

The weirdest thing is that despite its gruesome matter it is so. well. written.
At some points it even made me relate to and root for cannibalistic, necrophile serial killers which aaaaa. I don’t know how to feel about this. (send help????)

It certainly wasn’t written for squeamish people.
And I have absolutely no idea how to rate this.

If someone still contemplates reading this book, please, for the love of everything, check out the content notes first.

lizzzard222's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

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