Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Leech by Hiron Ennes

54 reviews

thayerbowen's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.5

It’s … confusing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Blood, Death, Gore, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Miscarriage

hotdaddybiscuit's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

maimy_santiago99's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It's fast paced for a Gothic, but readers unfamiliar with the genre will probably find it slow. Takes a bit to get going, but that might be because I had to shift into a more scholarly frame of mind- the language of Gothic novels being deliberately a bit obtuse in modern novels in order to mimic the feel of the originals takes a bit more concentration to parse than your average SFF. 

A nice twist on the latest trend in Gothic horror, I found some of the more esoteric bits of world building a bit too puzzling to be creepy. I think the normally of people with their organs outside their bodies and with mechanical replacements, for example, could have been established as being completely ordinary and not unusual a bit earlier, though I don't know how without it becoming tedious and ruining that lovely opening. The mysteries abound and few are explored, though, and that pulled me out of the story a bit as things continued to tangle but very few threads came loose.

The queerness in the story is simultaneously entirely incidental and completely pervasive- a character with he/him pronouns who lactates and acted as a wet nurse presented and seen as just another person rather than a trans person or a genetic anomaly (I assume the former, but in the world of the novel it could easily be the latter), the androgyny of the narrator for the first half of the book, the almost neglectful acceptance of physical differences... It's clear that in this world, queerness of any stripe isn't a huge deal to anyone who doesn't desperately want heirs, to the point where it is ubiquitous and almost blasé in its presentation, but it still feels revolutionary in the world we live in.

The twins were a highlight for me, and I'd happily have read a version of this novel that centered on them instead of the doctor/narrator (which is not to say I didn't enjoy this version!)

All in all, an enjoyable debut. I'll keep an eye out for their sophomore effort. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Blood

Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Confinement

cold_boy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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 adored this book. I never would have thought a Victorian Gothic horror could ever mesh with post-apocalyptic sci-fi, yet here we are. The story and the world are so meaty and dense and bizarre. Having read quite a bit of sci-fi, I can say Ennes is a master of introducing elements of a world in a way that doesn't feel jarring, and fully explaining the elements without it breaking the pacing or making it feel like the author is personally explaining the world to the audience. 

This is the horror novel I've been craving for a very long time.

Bonus audiobook narration review: I didn't realize Abigail Thorn was the narrator until I hit play, which was a pleasant surprise but I worried my familiarity with her work would distract me from the narration. Fortunately that wasn't a problem, and she absolutely embodied the characters (especially our nameless protagonist). While sometimes she came across as a bit inexperienced, I hope she keeps doing narration, because she has a very expressive and unique voice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child death, Rape, Blood, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Gore

owlishbookish's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Leech is quite possibly the most bizarre book I've ever read. I've been mulling over everything I just read since I closed the cover for the last time. The language and imagery were very compelling. There is such an atmosphere of foreboding and it has an almost Frankenstein-esque vibe, only even more grotesque. The identity of the narrator is very surprising and they are probably one of the most unreliable narrators I've ever experienced. It really does work for this story, though. The ending left me reeling and I know I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical content, and Body horror

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

readmeup's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

Minor: Suicide and Vomit

thehmkane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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

4.75

Every hour or so, this book delivered a line or a concept or an event that made me think, gee, this it the genderiest book I've ever read. That holds true to the end. It's complex. It's unsettling. And it is determinedly not cis.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Animal death, Colonisation, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Medical content, Child death, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Stillbirth

dannilmp's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

For a debut novel by Ennes, I was very impressed at the writing! How can one author make me feel so much compassion for a parasite compared to the human race? This book gave me The Haunting on Hill House vibes at time. Isolated from the rest of the world in a chateux, our doctor has to figure out what is trying to compete against his kind completely on his own. Can he figure it out in time while the chateux crumbles around him?

The setting of this novel really added to the atmosphere, while this book does have its many many scences involving blood and gore, it is the ambience that really shines through. The characters seem to grow and devlop as we learn some of their more darker secrets of their pasts. Again I am blown away that here I was feeling so much sympathy and even rooting for the parasites of Inultus over the humans at one point!

However, I feel the ending wasn't quite as upto par with the rest of the story and the ending left me feeling quite unsatisfied. I don't think the last question in the blurb is answered and given the information we get throughout the story, it's not quite simple to come up with your own conclusions as they really are just wild speculation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child death, and Gore

Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

aetherkids's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Child death