Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims

7 reviews

centrifugepolitics's review

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Cannibalism, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Terminal illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Colonisation and Alcoholism

gracecrandall's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Classism, Violence, Terminal illness, Colonisation, Murder, Gore, Police brutality, Confinement, Blood, Abandonment, Body horror, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Transphobia, Death of parent, Racism, Deadnaming, Grief, and Deportation

evelphysicist's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A tense and intriguing read. I really enjoyed the style of this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Slavery, Cannibalism, Deadnaming, and Medical trauma

Minor: Child death, Alcoholism, Grief, and Colonisation

keen's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Murder, Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Gore, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death

Moderate: Kidnapping and Child death

Minor: Deadnaming, Suicide, Addiction, and Transphobia

negotiumperambulans's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Cannibalism

Minor: Terminal illness

ianders's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• 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

Thirteen Storeys is sort of a novel that is actually a short stories collection: we follow 13 characters all linked by one appartment building, and each experiencing weird and traumatic phenomenons.

This format means that there isn't a lot of space for individual character arcs and growth. Yet, Sims expertly weaved a web of different and colorful characters all with their peculiar voice and personality. I thought each was distinctive and interesting in their own way, although some characters definitely made more of an impact than others. I liked the diversity of the cast.

Loyal to himself, Sims tackles hauntings and ghosts through themes of anti-capitalism, classism and human misery at the hands of those who hold power. His style and commentary are very efficient as his stances are loud and clear without being simply preachy or over simplistic: there exist obvious villainy, but no easy solution when the foundations themselves of a system are rotten.

Basically, I thought the book to be extremely validating and relatable in its observations, if bittersweet. The ending was viciously as cathartic as the prologue promised, although perhaps I would have prefered not knowing how it all ended from the start (information freely given in the premise itself, and mthus not a spoiler).

The pacing of the main story is a slow creep towards a great unravelling. The pacing of each individual character's story vary, but this is no action-oriented horror frenzy. A lot of emphasis is put on the claustrophobic atmosphere and the slow exploration of a building that is sick in its core.

I read this on audiobook (because my physical copy has yet to arrive) and I really recommand it. The audiobook is read by a full cast including the author himself with his lovely deep and dramatic voice that a lot will recognize from the podcast The Magnus Archives, which last season is currently airing and which Jonny Sims wrote.

If you are a fan of TMA, Thirteen Storeys is reminiscent of it in the best ways, although perhaps less brutal in its execution.
Somehow, the book also reminded me of episodes from something like the Twilight Zone, if that is something that appeals to you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Police brutality, Cannibalism, and Confinement

Minor: Transphobia, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, and Death

karinh's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Kidnapping, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement and Gore

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Deadnaming, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Xenophobia