Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

5 reviews

vixenreader's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

Half of the book is more about atmosphere than plot. Be patient, because you will get a thrilling climax once you get over the hump and see how the author subverts Wells’ sci-fi classic in the best possible way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Slavery, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Gore

Minor: Drug use, Religious bigotry, War, Genocide, Dysphoria, Murder, and Chronic illness

Please remember to be aware of animal-human hybrids, death of a spouse, grief over a lost relationship, financial struggles, dehumanizations of slaves, attempted rape, animal violence, first sex experiences, narcissism, surrogacy, and experimentation on animals.

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

I really, really liked this book! It’s a new take on an old story, and the good part is the detailed characterization of the hybrid creatures that offers a fuller picture than I’d expected. While the story isn’t directly told from their perspective, their inclusion adds depth. 

The two main characters - Dr Moreau’s daughter Carlotta and his mayordomo Montgomery - are a good foil for one another; they’re each initially suspicious of one another but that evolves into frequent but mostly friendly squabbling. Carlotta is a devoted and obedient daughter, oblivious to her father’s hidden motives, thus his betrayal is crushing. Lupe and Cachito, the two hybrids, are true friends of Carlotta, and the relationship between the three is a strong part of the book. 

The introduction of outsiders is the catalyst for disastrous revelations and an end to the peaceful life as they’ve known it. How Carlotta, Montgomery, and her friends deal with the incursion informs the last third of the book. Moreno-Garcia is a fabulous storyteller - I will read anything by her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Blood, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Torture, and Violence

aardwyrm's review

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

There's a good novella in this book if you chopped out a lot of nothing. The premise is intriguing, the prose is good, and Carlota isn't a bad viewpoint character. But 2/3 of the pages are taken up by tedious romantic drama that goes nowhere and could have been set up in a chapter. Montgomery also sucks a lot of life out of the story. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has many strengths, but writing a compelling protagonist man is not one of them. The human-animal hybrids who should be the stars of the story are barely there, but in them there's the bones of something great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Ableism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

writingcaia's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Horror, science fiction, history, and some romance, woman centric and coming of age, this is a gripping tale that will not let go until you drank it all in, and so I devoured this book, as I’ve all of Garcia’s, she’s a favourite and so is this book now.

I am not familiar with the original tale, although I am aware that there’re many differences in the science of the hybrids, in the location, and in the plot. This one is also a horror sci-fi but with a touching plot that mixes Mexico’s (where the story takes place) real history in the 19th century - where inequality reigned with the many castes present, and there was war with the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula, and also the rivalry with the British nearby -, with a fair maiden lost in her own paradise in a small rancho in the Yucatan, raised by an attentive father and her books and among friends, play friends and some she cares for with their atrocious animal-like features and consequently painful deformations, doting on her father, the amazing Doctor Moreau who will save humanity with his studies of the hybrids, and surveyed by the mordoyomo, an alcoholic Englishman with a broken heart. All is perfect in her eyes, her dream world with her fantastical kin people around, that is until the day she meets the green eyed son of her father’s benefactor and discovers love… and so much more.

The writing, the choice of plot and setting, the small romance with its two POV, it is as always perfect, and even though I saw the plot twist a mile away and the ending could be more bow tied for my taste, it still ranks very high among Garcia’s books. Although, the truth is I can never choose just one fave of hers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Torture, Gore, Blood, Alcoholism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Vomit

mandysreadinglist's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

 Set in the Mexican Yucatán, this is a story about a mad scientist, his human-hybrid creations, and his insidious intentions. It is also an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau, but with a fresh feminist perspective.

Doctor Moreau is a man of science and a purported man of God. Ironically, and hypocritically, though, he uses scientific experiments to play god over his creations, animal-human hybrids who he and his patron hope to use for slave labor. When the doctors daughter Carlotta starts asking questions about the world she has always known, she discovers a tangled web of secrets and lies—and must decide which side she wants to be on.

In SMG style, this story is oozing with gothic language, vintage fashion, complex characters, fast-paced action, and sizzling romance.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my auto-buy authors because everything she writes is golden. She uses beautiful images and paints stunning magical settings just with a few words. I love her style, and The Daughter of Dr. Moreau is as good as Moreno-Garcia’s previous works. This is yet another great and amazing tale from one of the greatest storytellers of our Generation.

Thank you to Netgalley for gifting me an eARC of this title. All opinions are my own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Slavery, and Torture