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madarauchiha's reviews
446 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
The first red flag was someone who enjoyed peter 'misogyny is great!' clines and dan '911 broke my brain so now i'm a huge islamophobe' simmons, and the second red flag was the endorsment from stephen 'racist as fuck' king.
Jsesus christ. Of all the reviews for this, why are there so few people mentioning how unbelieveably racist this is?
Odessa Red is the one prominent Black character. There are two others, her daughter [deceased] and her husband. Odessa speaks in broken english, the author's attempt at AAVE. She is a servant and, were this back in the 1800s, would have been a House Slave. She is 'content' in her role as servant and is shown uncomfortable with the liberal attempts to integrate her into the white family as a member rather than servant. I can understand this as the second a Black person or PoC in the deep south gets too 'out of line' with the deeply racist US South society bad, violent things start happening.
note yes this happens everywhere, I won't say this is exclusive to the US South at all.
Odessa is also a Magical N*gro. She performs magic, so to speak, in an attempt to protect the family. The family, not just the 13 yo child, also berate and harangue her for explanations of the supernatural shit happening in the house.
Odessa's arc ends with her
Yes that's right, the rich white girl from a rich white family
Her husband, mr Red, is a mooch, a drunk, a low class tactless jobless stereotype of a Black man. The one time he's shown on screen is
Her daughter appears once
At this point I don't give a shit about the writing. It's southern gothic, haunted house, supernatural shit happens and there's no damn reason for it. It's never explored either. So there you have it. Doo doo kaka dog shit of a book.
note. the word n*gro is used one time.
minor pregnancy, drug abuse, ableism towards people who use drugs, child death, drowning, physical abuse, child abuse, murder, sexual content, xenophobia, death, stillbirth, cancer,
medium animal death, gore, blood, cannibalism, alcohol, infidelity, car crash, sinophobia, racism, child death,
major gore, blood,death, murder, fatphobia context being fat equal bad evil monster horror trope, arson, fire, bone fractures, injuries, body horror, blood, antiblack racism context being us south post civil war society, addiction ,alcoholism, toxic relationships,
Here's some examples of antiblack racism.
Dauphin is the rich white man who employs Odessa Red, wife to Johnny Red.
India is 13 btw.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Gore, and Racism
Minor: Animal death, Murder, Ableism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Xenophobia
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think I'd like this book if they toned down the misogny by at LEAST 99.999999 times a milllion percent.
Ok yeah I get it. It's a shitty misogynstic old fart of a rocker man who was originally from Nowheresville, population 50 people and their cow herding dogs. Does that mean it should've been misogyny free? No, I get the intentionally unlikeable protagonist. But it's so single faceted and suffers for it. I'd rather that it was an unending curse, passed on from person to person. The Camilla was not the first 'Camilla'. Camilla is a title, not a person, just like the Yellow King is a title used by multiple people in the book.
Also jesus fucking christ, can we stop with the shitty anti Rromani g slurs already? Fifteen fucking times. Chop your fucking hands off already, we don't need that shit in 2022.
Uhh let's see. The plot was. Thrilling! Interesting! Kinda flat at times. That might be due to being a retelling of someone's memories than anything else.
I really hated the ending. No, not the plot twist of the MC
minor drug overdose, alcohol, alcoholism, whorephobia, child death, car accidents,
medium mental illness, suicide attempt, self harm, psychiatric institutions,
major mental illness, murder, alcohol, self harm, toxic relationships, blood, misogyny, gore, torture, body horror, self harm, sexual assault context is
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, Gore, Sexual assault, Racism, Murder, Alcohol, Torture, Body horror, Sexual content, Infidelity, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Car accident
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I really love the mythology Carson has created. It's not a rip off of cosmic or eldritch horror and it's not the standard creepy haunted lighthouse. Not so far as I have personally read. There is enough left to the imagination to entice and encourage continued reading.
I liked the blend of folk lore, science, and thought it pulled off the 'haunted app in my phone oh no!' very well. It's not exactly a haunted app though. I mean it is, but it's more than that. I'm looking forward to how electronics will be included more in horror genre. I know Ringu did it well, but there's got to be more out there.
I did not like the sexism. Ok so there's two women characters. One is a childhood friend, now adult just like the man MC. The other is the MC's elderly mother, who resides in a nursing home due to a stroke. And that's all the women who get arcs, much less a consistent mention. Also yes, the one woman character is the love interest. You can guess what happens to her real easy if you know your tropes. The thing that irritated me about her character arc was that
minor bill gates, car crash, death, drugs lsd, eminem, grief, indigenous racism w.nd.g. word used, insects, kidnapping, parental death, suicide
medium alcohol, cannibalism, domestic abuse, havana Syndrome but fictionalized and taken seriously, injuries, religion, sexual content, toxic relationships, war crimes
major arson, blood, car accidents, child abuse, child death, colonization, death, demolition, emotional abuse, fire, gaslighting, genocide, gore, gun violence, medical abuse, medical content, murder, physical abuse, stalking, suicide, torture, violence,
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Torture, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Racism, Kidnapping, Suicide, Car accident, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
largely disappointing. well written, kept the tension and pace decently, but went no where. It felt like a excerpt from a larger piece and I'm left confused as to what was the point of that?
Ok so basically a family goes to a swimming pool
minor alcoholism, ableism,
medium stalking, alcoholism, addiction, mouth trauma, anti indigenous racism, infidelity,
major suicide, blood, death, drowning, child death, physical abuse, bullying,
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Death, Blood, Gore, Physical abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Racism, Infidelity, Stalking, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Minor: Alcoholism and Ableism
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Not only is this copaganda, but this is porn for men. No, lot like erotic or explicit materials. It's a story where burly manly men Do What Must Be Done even though it's illegal and immoral and they are the Heros Of The Story. It's very wish fulfillment aimed towards cishet men.
Female characters are an after thought. They're plackards on the museum of masculinity, denoting yes, this male character has gone through the standard path of life for manly burly cishet menfolk. Wife. Preteen Daughter(s). Student that's ethically off limits for fucking and also kinda bitchy because she's here to learn and not for her MRS degree. That's the extent of women characters. The more prominent ones are the Wives and we don't get much out of either. They lost a kid, blame the husband for not Doing Enough, and cease existing according to the plot.
Supernatural shit?
Well the author did SOME reason which is far more than most white authors would do. Good job, I guess. And they get props for avoiding the racist Magical Evil Child Murdering Indians trope.
I'd say the story is 15 percent supernatural horror, the rest copaganda thriller. It was decently written, I don't regret the hour spent reading it. Just go into it understanding that this is a very sexy, fluffy, completely fictional version of police and federal agents that does not exist in real life.
Content Warnings
minor alcoholism, child death,
medium suicide, school shooting,
major self harm, injuries, confinement, torture, child abuse, medical abuse, gore, death, gun violence, child death, ableism, suicide ideation, police, kidnapping, grief,
Graphic: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Torture, Child death, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Gore, Gun violence, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Suicide
Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Child death
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
major antisemitism, body horror, drug use smoking tobacco, sexism as us common in noir genre, violence,
medium victim blaming, anti black racism, domestic violence, sharps,
minor child abuse,
it was ok. i dont think ive ever read a Khaw book that i liked or enjoyed so this was a decent change of mediocrity from the author.
▪ Your actions say you do, princess. Unless you’ve got a fetish for being knocked around, none of this makes sense to me.”
Ah, right. I'm remembering why I hate noir.
▪ He hated his stepfather, hated him like Hitler hated the face in the mirror.
What the fuck is this Khaw you stupid cunt.
▪ —a simian jaw, cheeks too wide and face too ugly, a lizard stare, heavy, hanging with sins.
Fuck you for this too.
Yah I think this author just sucks for me. I'm not reading more of their shit again.
Graphic: Drug use, Sexism, Violence, Antisemitism, and Body horror
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Racism
Minor: Child abuse
- 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
3.0
That was interesting and I did enjoy it. It was more suspense than horror, and had some gore to it. Not too much tho, thankfully. I'd suggest this if you need a quick read, or warm up your brain a lil.
The plot twist is< spoiler> magical realism in which the mc's imagination can influence reality to some degree. Or can it??? Is it actually delusions due to childhood trauma and loss of parent?
Who knows.
major rats, animal death, gore, blood, vomit, injuries, parent death, death,
medium injuries,
minor religion catholicism, injuries,
major rats, animal death, gore, blood, vomit, injuries, parent death, death,
medium injuries,
minor religion catholicism, injuries,
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
0.25
If someone recs this to you, they're a missing step and red flag. Like, if you're Normal, I mean. If you got racist brain rot then there's no hope for you lmao.
The one indigenous character from an unnamed reservation and Nation,
The first six chapters is just misogyny and homophobia and toxic masculinity in the workplace. I don't see how that's necessary to build the plot.
Skip to chapter seven if you wanna read horror type stuff. Though it's still not worth it. The plot twist is
▪ Boyd just stood there, trying to pull air into his lungs. He could not get past the idea that there was an almost feminine caliber to that cry. Anguished, haunted, and demented, but somehow female. Like some big and hideous insect imitating a human cry. The idea of that made his flesh crawl in waves. It was not a human voice or even a tone a human would be capable of producing, yet it was not strictly bestial and there was no denying a certain sorrow in its pitch.
Of course this author makes the horror monster into something feminine, because men are Normal, and women are weird bizarre evil creatures.
I...... I need to author to die and their works to fade into osbcurity. Immediately.
major blood, body horror, child birth, death, homophobia, indigenous racism, injuries, misogyny, pregnancy, q slur, rape, rape threats, toxic masculinity, violence
medium parental death,
Graphic: Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
0.25
Nine pages in and we got five total homophobic f slurs straight off the bat. nah fuck this author and everyone who recs him. You get what you pirate for from a fucking cracked dot com employee, I guess.
Graphic: Homophobia