toastrats's reviews
40 reviews

The Fisherman by John Langan

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Incest, Sexual content, and Dementia

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

dark funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Minor: Cancer

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I think this world is very interesting and the story is so compelling, but we are unfortunately forced to experience it through the eyes of an apathetic shitheel of a man who only views women as mothers or whores. This is intentional, he's not a sympathetic guy, but ugh to know more of the world without Marcos' dumb ass in the way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Death of parent

Minor: Pedophilia and Trafficking

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Suicide

A Sincere Warning About the Entity in Your Home by Jason Arnopp

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Murder

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Playground by Aron Beauregard

challenging dark sad tense fast-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

This was my first Splatterpunk book and I think I can safely say the genre is not for me. I won't do the author the disservice of a low rating when I am clearly not the intended audience. 

That said, I don't think there's a lot of story here if you strip away the gore and gross-out content. If part of the appeal of Splatterpunk is, "How far can you push a story with gore and horror and still have a story?" then I think this book found the line and then stepped over it.

Also, the alliteration. I know it's a stylistic choice but it is too much.

Also also! Snakes are venomous, not poisonous. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Murder

Minor: Animal death

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

I think the social commentary about creation vs destruction, needing death to have meaning, being uncomfortable with a slow death, the gendered nature of violence, etc... was maybe more interesting than the plot of the book? That said, it is still a good read! Some of the metaphors were a little heavy handed (the plant), but they still resonate. 

Do read it keeping in mind that Hendrix often writes characters in opposition to the protagonist very unsympathetic because that's how the protagonist views them. Who is standing in the way of Lynette? Lynette is. Her trauma (in the form of group) is. The characters seem insufferable for a reason. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Drug use