Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

77 reviews

chrisljm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

This was a well written story, but it’s not something I enjoyed. The vibes were just so terrible, I wanted to throw up a few times. It was as if Scott Hawkins heard the phrase “until the room stinks” and wanted to literally infuse that into the very core of the book. 

The best part of the book, for me, was the resolution to the mystery of what happened to Father. It seemed like a great conclusion, only to find out I still had ~150 pages left. I know part of the premise is Carolyn finding her humanity again, but since that arch is set after the climax of finding out about Father, the juxtaposition in tone of these two parts seemed very strange to me and made me enjoy the last quarter a lot less. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Confinement, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Gun violence, War, Torture, Suicide, Rape, Murder, and Gore

Moderate: Bullying, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery, Car accident, and Cancer

joe_dmh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Animal death, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Body horror, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, Racism, Gore, Incest, Gun violence, and Grief

amiegold's review against another edition

It was weird and engrossing, but I don't think I was in the right mood.  All of the weird incest-ish relationships got harder for me to listen to.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, and Body horror

Moderate: Vomit

molly200's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

What the fuck did I just read??? That was incredible. Fucked up, sure, but incredible. I sort of grew to like the characters in a way. Tbh, I think this is the only book where I can safely say my favourite character was a fucking lion.... Holy shit. I don't think I'll ever read anything quite like it. It had the sort of loose ends type feel to it that I love in books. Also, yay for lovecraftian/cosmic horror! And also a bit of comedy? I don't know. This book defies genre, words, classification of any kind. I'd even go so far as to say it's a masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Blood, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Body horror, Addiction, Rape, Vomit, War, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia and Grief

salm0n's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.5

Honestly, I'm really surprised I liked this book. It's not my normal style and I don't know if I'd ever pick up something similar again but the world building was exceptional!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

logarithmic's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Drug use, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape

upperjackpain's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual assault and Vomit

Minor: Incest and Police brutality

mommarex1221's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Do not be discouraged by the 3 ⭐️ rating, this novel is crafted with care and the premise is unique, at least it's unlike anything I've ever read before. I would still recommend it. I did enjoy about half of it, not to say I disliked the remaining half, I just struggled. I was a bit sad about some of the choices made in reference to a certain character, but that's on me and not the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Murder, Suicide, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Rape, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Gun violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Cancer

scenic92's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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 death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, and Blood

neversaynevermore's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I have a feeling I’m going to think about this book at least once a month until I die.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault