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takey's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
1.75
saint_eleanor's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Ugh so creepy and sad!! Eric Larocca always gets me. I got kind of confused around the end but then the ending itself was really crazy and devastating. Not as scary as his other works but still so addictive. And i have to say i agree with Martyr… ‘Mother!’ WAS a masterpiece
macyishere's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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? Yes
4.0
moxiemin's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Ok so I will be honest while starting this review the first question is about the plot... What plot? Like seriously where is the plot. I normally love when you have the book within a book stories. But neither one of the stories were complete. Or made any sense in general if you ask me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
rottedrapunzel's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
I enjoyed the epistolary format, which seems to be a running theme of LaRocca's books (or at least the two I have read so far). I also enjoyed the writing from the perspectives of Martyr and Ambrose, and the genuine sense of unease/disgust that their stories, alongside the disturbing imagery, had on me.
I didn't enjoy the novella within a novella, mainly due to finding the change of flow between the two story lines clunky, which I suppose you could argue makes sense with the ending reveal. I will say in that sense I enjoyed coming to that revelation after the book more satisfying than the reading process.
IMO not quite on the same level as THGWSWLS, but I am still interested in reading more work by this author.
A Grower, not a Shower.
I enjoyed the epistolary format, which seems to be a running theme of LaRocca's books (or at least the two I have read so far). I also enjoyed the writing from the perspectives of Martyr and Ambrose, and the genuine sense of unease/disgust that their stories, alongside the disturbing imagery, had on me.
I didn't enjoy the novella within a novella, mainly due to finding the change of flow between the two story lines clunky, which I suppose you could argue makes sense with the ending reveal. I will say in that sense I enjoyed coming to that revelation after the book more satisfying than the reading process.
IMO not quite on the same level as THGWSWLS, but I am still interested in reading more work by this author.
A Grower, not a Shower.
goose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
linnaboobooks's review against another edition
2.0
For the longest time praise for Eric LaRocca's previous novella "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke" caught my attention as a lot of reviews enjoyed it but also found it graphic and weird. So I went into this expecting similar after hearing the description but that's not what I came out of it with.
This novella follows a character named Martyr Black of whom we know is a murderer of men and his partner Ambrose. Their conversations are thought provoking for those who might ponder similar questions brought up and while intriguing I'm not wholly sure what I was supposed to take away from it.
Also in the novella we see pieces of work, both poetry and the manuscript of a novella by Martyr Black. Of this the novella (also titled You've Lost a Lot of Blood) was what kept my interest, I wanted to see where that was going and understood the narrative aspects of it. And how it tied into the whole narrative of You've Lost a Lot of Blood (the novella by Eric LaRocca) by the end. It was pretentious in the way it went about the themes that made it less enjoyable for me.
trigger warnings: graphic descriptions, mentions of pedophilia, mentions of a sickness fetish, descriptions of things under skin (I think this is a phobia for some), child abandonment, death of parents, car accident.
This novella follows a character named Martyr Black of whom we know is a murderer of men and his partner Ambrose. Their conversations are thought provoking for those who might ponder similar questions brought up and while intriguing I'm not wholly sure what I was supposed to take away from it.
Also in the novella we see pieces of work, both poetry and the manuscript of a novella by Martyr Black. Of this the novella (also titled You've Lost a Lot of Blood) was what kept my interest, I wanted to see where that was going and understood the narrative aspects of it. And how it tied into the whole narrative of You've Lost a Lot of Blood (the novella by Eric LaRocca) by the end. It was pretentious in the way it went about the themes that made it less enjoyable for me.
trigger warnings: graphic descriptions, mentions of pedophilia, mentions of a sickness fetish, descriptions of things under skin (I think this is a phobia for some), child abandonment, death of parents, car accident.
strawbeehouse's review against another edition
4.0
So I loved this up until the ending. I liked the slow-building mystery and then i was hit with (ending spoilers) (spoilers over).
It made no sense given the build up. I do love the build up though.
Spoiler
plagiarism as the twist?? I thought it was building up to a cancer diagnosis and that martyr was dying!! No, it was him being a plagiarist.It made no sense given the build up. I do love the build up though.
janagaton's review against another edition
4.0
"Meander" is this author's favorite word lol. Love the social commentary & the random spurts of vivid horrific imagery. I enjoyed the writing in this one significantly more than Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, and there were several humorous parts in this as well, which took me by surprise in the midst of all the fuckery.