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pinkfawn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked this up, resonating with the feeling to losing my parents to right-wing media, always feeling solidarity with others who have experienced this. I think this story did a good job highlighting all of the seemingly harmless ways that people can be indoctrinated, sometimes without even knowing.
This book is very graphic and gory. It also won't leave you feeling good.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pandemic/Epidemic
novellearts's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
This starts off pretty action-packed and immediately the concept gripped me. If you didn’t pick up on the not-so-subtle hints, this book is a political satire on MAGA and Fox News. I thought this aspect was great, I loved the absurdity of the brainwashing and insanity that overtook these characters. I’m also sure that if the audience that this book is written about reads this, they are going to absolutely hate this book.
The main reason I knocked off points for this book was that it felt incredibly repetitive and almost became tedious in the middle chunk of this story. The first part was fantastic, I was completely zoned into the story, but once I got to the middle, I found my mind wandering because I just didn’t feel as though I was reading anything ground-breaking. The story felt like it stalled for me. The ending did pick back up a bit but it wasn’t as strong as the start.
I did enjoy the humor in this too and there were certainly a good amount of “WTF” moments and gore. I think this is probably a book that a lot of people would want to check the trigger warnings for. For example, there is a family dog in this book. The dog does
There’s also some pretty graphic scenes about child deaths and school shootings.
I do think this book was worth reading even though it lost some of its appeal to me in the middle.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
katiebella_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
⚠️ They Ate The Dog!!!
Child mutilation, sexual horror, graphically gross, political horror
This book has no conventional chapters. There are some paragraph headings. Different dates, Povs, activities, and social media posts that are used as a placeholder. Some go on and on for pages. If you like short, easy chapters, this isn't the book for you.
This book highlights the differences between liberals and conservatives. It is a country divided by politics. It pokes fun at society and the news. Fox News is here Fax News. Providing false narrative to the nation. Indoctrination. All the horrors and travesties in this book seem to be perpetrated by the non-liberals/conservatives. Neither side is presented in a good light. Librals/democrats are weak, victims living inside little bubbles, hoping the world will protect them just because of their values. If you have firm political beliefs, this might not be the book for you.
Gross. Absolutely abhorrent. I couldn't tare myself away. Even in disgust, I read on. Transfixed by the narrative, I gagged my way through. The horror here is everything and the kitchen sink. Body horror, sexual parental horror, social horror, psychological horror, apocalyptic horror, splattering, and extreme. It's over the top and, at times, offensive. If you have a weak stomach, this might not be the book for you.
This is a possession story. Possession by media. How exposure to view points and ideas can possess who you are and how you function, much like a demon. This is a zombie story. Brainwashed to brain dead. The old adage of too much screen time zombifying.
This is fear and propaganda, conspiracy theories, and terrorism drawn out and twisted into a novel. Falsified school shooting to pass gun reform laws. Viruses started in labs in China.
I found the switching between third - and second person narratives a bit jarring. I understood the point the author was conveying. I just had a hard time with the second person, pov. I don't read a lot of YN stories.
This book really doesn't have that many bad reviews. This is mostly due to the fact that it is so incredibly well written that no matter your views, beliefs, or your gag reflex, you have to recognize that this is a phenomenally well written book. The other reason it doesn't have many bad reviews is that it seems to have an incredibly large number of DNFs. I can only surmise that this is due to the political nature of the book, along with its wildly disgusting content.
Many times, I wanted to DNF due to the revolting and nauseating themes presented in this novel. In the end, I'm glad I soldiered through it. The ending was phenomenal. I don't think I have the constitution to read another of his tales, but I'm satisfied with having read this. To those who DNFd before the halfway point - Try Again! It really truly does get better.
The onomatopoeia is hilarious in the book, though.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
herasrevenge88's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Splatterpunk septuagenarian cannibalistic orgiesajslifelibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation
aquaphase's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes did not disappoint in the slightest.
The story opens innocently enough. Noah Fairchild is a liberal family man living in Brooklyn who has distanced himself a bit from his Richmond, Virginia family after their years-long slide into the far-right cable media. When Noah’s mother leaves a voicemail rambling about the “Great Reawakening,” and Noah can’t reach her for clarification; he gets a tad concerned and sets out for Virginia to get to the bottom of this.
What Noah finds is an utter nightmare, that, it turns out, isn’t just confined to his family: people across the country appear to be infected with a media-fueled demonic possession; fueled by exposure to television, apps, and other content.
One of the things I appreciated the most in the presentation of this story was the implied multimedia presentation of the situation. Switching between recounts of TikTok feeds, news reports, personal videos, and other sources, the reader gets a quick snapshot of the insanity that seems to be spreading though the nation. The fever dream inclusion of Anderson Cooper as an imaginary narrator at one point really just drives the insanity aspect of this story home.
As always with Mr. Chapman, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes is very worth picking up. It’ll very much make you question where the “sickness” comes from. Just a bit of FYI, it has absolutely every single content warning that one might be able to think of. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism
2ratsinacoat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really liked this book. I thought the themes were intriguing and noteworthy, and the ideas were fresh. I do think that having a fresh and unique idea can get you far, but… I think the things were a bit heavy handed. That’s cool, I just was hoping for something a bit more thought provoking. Fair warning, there is a lot, and I mean a lot of gore/sexuality, and not in a fun way. The ending wasn’t my favorite, but I still really liked it! If you don’t like political criticism of either side, then don’t read, but I found it enjoyable.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death
funbrarian's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
justanotherfinalgirlreview's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
The Devil is in the Fine Print of the Terms and Conditions of Your Social Media Accounts: How obsession with technology and mediated communition can lead to our possession
The US of A is just more fun than hell. Fact.”
Clay McCleod Chapman’s ‘Wake Up and Open Your Eyes’ examines American oversaturation of media in our daily lives, our obsession and addiction and inability to live without it. It takes the absurdity and horror of real life events and exaggerates them to a point where we can see that not only have we become desensitized to the ridiculousness and horror of real life mediated communication but also that we are not using our own common sense to question the information we receive, nor do we look for secondary sources to make informed judgments. Poking fun at Covid misinformation, political conspiracy to theories, Fox News and their fake news disinformation, the green health/yoga mom lifestyle, baby shark and more.
Clay seems to have found out why this is all been normalized and what has been happening to our loved ones and wants to warn us about what could happen if we keep turning a blind eye. Demons have infiltrated our media industries at the highest level and have planned an hostile takeover from within.
“You believe that? Only in motherfucking America . . . These possessed assholes are turning our country into their own personal playground.”
The second half reads like a terrifying choose your own adventure story: survival horror edition starring yourself (the reader) in the main role of Noah, only problem is you have no real choices as fate has already predetermined your path for you.
“Their chyron flashes BREAKING NEWS, but isn’t news always breaking nowadays? Isn’t the news all broken by now? Smashed to bits?”
Format:
Novel
MultiplePov including 3rd person narration, epistolary transcripts and 2nd person narration
Genre:
Horror
-survival
-techno horror
-possession
-comedy horror
Science Fiction
General Adult Fiction
“She had to find herself again. Reclaim herself. Salvage her inner goddess. Where better to look for spiritual guidance than on Instagram?”
For fans of:
The Cell - Stephen King
Kurt Vonnegut
Fahrenheit 451 -Ray Bradbury
It- Stephen King
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic