Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Prophet by Sin Blaché, Helen Macdonald

6 reviews

schnaucl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book.   I really liked the dynamic between Rao and Adam and their dynamic with Hunter.  

The idea of something that manifests your nostalgia is an intriguing one, as is the idea of someone who immediately knows if something is true.  I can certainly see why intelligence agencies would want to control a person with such an ability.  Frankly, I'm surprised they'd ever let him in the field given what a valuable resource he would be.  

I did not see it's all a big Libertarian plot to weaponize nostalgia coming as the explanation, although the politics of it, and the reckless disregard for testing it on an unsuspecting populace, certainly tracks.

I feel a little ambivalent about the ending.  I suppose given the government connections, they could officially undo Rao's death, although explaining it to his family would be more of a challenge.    I also wonder if Rao being a recreation, even a perfect one, will start to cause problems down the line.  I would think it would be difficult to not have imposter syndrome.

I think this is a standalone book but I'd definitely read more if they wanted to make it a series.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Body horror, Drug abuse, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Vomit, Animal death, War, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Racism

teenytabris's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Body horror, Self harm, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Gore

maregred's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Torture

Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, and War

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

Plot: 3★
Prose: 4★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 5★/3.75★
Characters: 4.75★
Worldbuilding: 3.5★
Ending: 3.5★

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Medical content, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Gaslighting, Antisemitism, and Panic attacks/disorders

paracosim's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

4.25

I was interested in this book the instant I saw the cover, and I’m very pleased to say that the contents lived up to the intrigue. If you like the game Disco Elysium, this is the book for you. It’s surreal, feels a bit dreamy in some areas, but the characters are well-grounded and will reel you back in when you begin to feel like the plot is getting a little too weird. (I reached out to the authors on Twitter and as it turns out, Sin Blaché has played and loves Disco Elysium LOL.)
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators were fantastic. It actually took me a few chapters to realize the narrators were different people switching from POVs, because the voices they used for the characters sounded so similar. So it wasn’t jarring in the least. The plot was great, but there were a few parts that seemed a bit too convenient (or that made me want to shake the character’s shoulders to demand what the hell they were thinking). Overall, this was an extremely solid read and I think I’ll be buying a physical copy.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of the audiobook to review.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Homophobia and Animal death

gorejoyous's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

What if The X Files and Sherlock Holmes and Annihilation had a perfect, beautiful book baby? I have excellent news that this is no longer just a hypothesis, but fully realized in "Prophet" by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald.

I started this book on a late, crowded flight and was instantly immersed. I've never been able to so clearly visualize the world and characters from a novel before, both to my adoration and horror in the case of this story. Blaché and Macdonald are a killer duo in their descriptions of the characters' actions and inner workings, letting you really get under their skin.

It's so weird and gross and lovely and upon finishing it I'm absolutely devastated in the best way possible. Extremely excited to yell about this book to everyone I know and thrilled to add two stellar authors to my "read everything by them" list.

Biggest thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Addiction, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Torture

Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt