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zakura317's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
concertconfetti's review against another edition
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
smolo1993's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Moderate: Confinement and Emotional abuse
yuyuv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment
ladyinverse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Vomit, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
fictionalportal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
boglord's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
Moderate: Gaslighting, Colonisation, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
charley34's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Confinement, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
emmdashed's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Annihilation was great because I could never quite guess what was about to happen next, but I always wanted to find out. This book I could pretty much figure it out every time and I stopped caring at all. Gyre would wander in a circle, think about how much she hates but doesn't hate Em, do something supremely stupid, get hurt, then blame Em for it. Take your helmet off, rinse it in the sump, repeat ad nauseum. She just does some truly infuriating and foolish things just trying to be defiant (???) or something. I found myself annoyed reading her mental and physical circling while getting nowhere fast. If this book were cut down, removed a lot of this extraneous looping around it would have been a lot better. Maybe the repetition was the goal, to make us feel like Gyre's confused state. However, at a certain point it just becomes tiresome and a slog to read.
Also frustrating was the relationship between Gyre and Em. Trying to take them from enemies to lovers felt so forced, there was basically no chemistry there outside of trauma bonding. All they do is betray, berate, defy, fight, and control each other and I'm supposed to believe they have feelings for each other? There is probably a way to write this well but..... this is not it. No thanks.
I think the reason I criticize The Luminous Dead so much is because it had so much potential but it dropped the ball. The writing itself is decent, there were genuinely creepy moments. Whenever the book got into the Science Fiction and worldbuilding elements I really enjoyed it and wanted to know more about this world. Unfortunately the book falls down with characters and plot.
Tldr: Very cool premise and setup, lots of potential; poor execution and tiresome follow through. Take out about 40% of the circling and the "romance" and the book would have been a lot more enjoyable.
Pros:
- Good Hard Sci-Fi
- Cool setting/worldbuilding
Cons:
- Tiresome characters
- Toxic relationships seemingly portrayed positively
- Too long
- Repetitious
- Seriously though some of the character choices are so had though I still get annoyed thinking about it
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
maudi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, and Vomit
Minor: Emotional abuse