Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Devourers by Indra Das

18 reviews

simareading's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual violence, Self harm, Body horror, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Abortion, Death, Colonisation, and Excrement

Minor: Homophobia

talonsontypewriters's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Murder, Rape, and Death of parent

Moderate: Kidnapping, Child death, Abandonment, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Sexism, War, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Vomit

Minor: Classism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Colonisation, Abortion, Dysphoria, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, and Racism

Smoking. Urination. Discussion of and explicit descriptions of rape, as well as depiction of aftermath, but no extended scene. Sexual coercion, victim blaming/justification of rape (by character; criticized by others and narrative), discrimination against sex workers. Pregnancy and birth by rape. Decapitation. Metaphorical mentions of bestiality. Sexual relationships in a shapeshifter-unique dynamic compared to but not necessarily equivalent to parent-child dynamics, where one party has sometimes been raised by the other since youth; discussed and alluded to, but not graphically shown on-page.

aardwyrm's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Like all the best horror, weird, gross, kinda horny, never fully explained, rich and dreadful and spooky and gory, gets its claws in and won't let go. Warning: One of the POV characters is a rapist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Classism, Rape, Child death, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, War, Abortion, Animal death, Body horror, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, Stalking, Vomit, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Torture

kateofmind's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Vomit, Sexual violence, Murder, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Colonisation

kaabtik's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.25

From the prose to the stories within stories within stories, The Devourers was something that was difficult to get through (affectionate). I'm wholly invested in stories where the characters' fates have been sealed from their very introductions, ghosts haunting the stories they reside in—them being both the empty house and the spirits it gives shelter to.

It gives an interesting new spin on old folktales, stretching and twisting their origins that make sense for the people in the story and for us as readers to connect to our own beliefs. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it, though at times it was difficult due to the content. It was everything up my alley and it did not disappoint at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Vomit

Minor: Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy

2000sanimeop's review

dark

• 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? It's complicated

1.5

This was a deeply disappointing, joyless, and honestly gross read. My primary reason for finishing the thing rather than dropping it entirely was that I was compelled to find out what happens. Now, having completed it, I can tell you that it was Not Worth It.

The Good
The writing is competent and has a good flow. I enjoyed the kind of Interview With a Vampire Werewolf that it had going on at first, but as the story went on, it became less effective as a framing device.
 
The Bad
The author's understanding of women appears to be wholly limited to the pain and suffering inflicted upon them by men. That's all there is for women in this joyless book.  Initially, I appreciated the rage that Cyrah feels in response to the constant violence visited upon her, but it's ultimately impotent and meaningless.

Speaking of meaningless, the very first thing I did after finishing this book was google

"Is Indra Das trans?"

, preparing to eat my hat if I was wrong. My hat remains intact and uneaten. I'm baffled at this last-minute swerve, when I genuinely can't recall a single thing that could have foreshadowed it. This aspect of the main character almost feels like it's just there to complement the other bookend character, who actually had potential gender happenings and thoughts within the story. With that said, this second character more or less tells the MC

in the future I will live as a woman, but my mom is the one that will be living, and I will be my mom

. Yikes!

In general, this book is a total slog, despite being on the shorter side. The world Das has created is downright Hobbesian, and I can only read so much of that before I wonder if there is a point to it all. 

The Smelly
This book is obsessed with stank, and not in the way people horny for werewolves usually are. If I had read a print copy of this rather than listen to the audiobook, I genuinely would not have finished it. Why do these characters piss and shit themselves so much?! If you think I am exaggerating, go ahead! Read this accursed thing to prove me wrong (you won't.). By comparison, I do not feel the violence/gore is particularly visceral, and I did not have any issue with that at all. 

In general, it did seem like Das tried to write from an informed perspective, but he really, *really*, missed the mark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood, Rape, and Misogyny

whatellisreadnext's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

nithya_natalya's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This is one of the most incredible books I've read in recent memory. I'd been in the mood for a queer monster vibe, and this was sheer perfection. Like any good monster story, this novel explores what it means to be human—specifically a human pushed to the margins, and existing in a space between worlds. Though oftentimes full of bloody guts and gore, the novel was also surprisingly tender. There were moments that as Alok wiped away their tears,  I found myself doing the same. A really beautiful story of a monster stepping into their humanity, while a human steps into their queerness. 

CONTENT WARNING, sexual assault and abuse
This book does contain rape. While it was hard to read, as a survivor myself, I found Cyrah's story resonating with me, not in a triggering way, but in a way that felt liberating. She is always depicted as a powerful, multi-dimensional human. It never felt as though the male characters were the ones "empowering" her. Her power was not something given or taken by men. She was driven by a power that already and always existed within herself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Gore, and Blood