Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

25 reviews

1ightcap's review against another edition

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

3.0

Eugh. I wanted there to be something sharper. I don't know, there was something wierd the whole time.  Why do the faux fox but name checks Anderson Cooper all the time. I don't know if the author really had a point or just wanted to use conspiracy brain as a backdrop.  More Squick than horror. Body horror, wierd incest vibes. Disappointing after some of the more razor maneuvers in Tell Me I'm Worthless 

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ajslifelibrary's review

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challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5


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aquaphase's review

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dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

 One of the most enjoyable things about picking up the new offering from Mr. Chapman is that you never know what you are going to get. Ghost Eaters put a lot of folks off fungi, Whisper Down the Lane brought back a whole lot of PTSD surrounding the “Satanic Panic,” and I’m not even going to go into the crustacean trauma surrounding What Kind of Mother that I still have. 

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. 
Plus, I have to add, I picked one hell of a week to binge this one: the transition of power in the US government. 

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. 

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2ratsinacoat's review

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced
  • 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

Okay, so. 
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.

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esselleayy's review

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dark funny tense fast-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

4.0

The themes of this book are anything but subtle! Horror readers interested in socio-political satire will enjoy. Darkly hilarious and plenty disgusting. Things get wild pretty quickly then the pacing shifts a bit later on with a mix of pov and found footage sections, but I still found it to be a quick read. 

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funbrarian's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0


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gabbareads's review

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dark funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

There were some horror elements in this that really did not work for me but the overall theme/message and even idea of the book was exceptional. The ending also brought everything full circle in a somewhat surprising and honest way.

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kp1231's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This might be the best thing that I've read so far this year. Holy crap.

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kiitykate's review

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dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5


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domonique_ciara's review

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The writing was simple, repetitive, and boring. The tone was off-putting and "gave me the ick" as the kids say nowadays. I like the idea of the plot, but the execution seemed like it was taking a more silly, humorous, and over the top rather than having well-thought out insight and commentary, which i would have preferred. The "gory" parts came off as a shock value tactic rather than something that serves the plot in a meaningful way.

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