Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

18 reviews

kkalicky94's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

If Clay McLeod Chapman has zero fans I am ✨dead✨ 

I don't know what he puts into his books to make them so damn good but I hope he never stops writing. This was a cool take on "zombies"/epidemic/brainwashing? I don't even know how to describe it honestly. It reminded me of American Rapture by CJ Leede but political instead of religious. I like to go into books blind and I think that's the best approach for this book as well because there's no way you can properly describe what happens in this book. I'm sure for a lot of people it'll be a book they love or hate but I personally loved it ☺️
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7_minutes_of_weeping's review

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

3.0

Wow… what an experience. Have you ever read a book that had you periodically stop and ask, “WTF am I reading?” Well, this book had me do that more than any other book I’ve read, and I’ve read some crazy books.

In this wild social and political horror, there is an epidemic of possessions sweeping the US. The cause? Extreme right-wing media called Fax News and viral internet trends circulating on social media. Noah Fairchild fears his parents have been acting strange and pays them a visit in Virginia. He finds himself far from home when the epidemic grips the nation, and he must do what he can to get back to New York to be with his wife and daughter. 

This book is intense on several levels. It’s bold with how it points a finger at the dangers of excessive media consumption and how easy it is for someone to lose themselves to media manipulation. Chapman isn’t afraid to critique the modern polarization of our political beliefs and, quite literally, shove the toxic effects down our throats. I feel there will be a lot of people offended by these topics, and if these topics bother you, I recommend skipping this one. 

This book is also an extremely gruesome horror book that isn’t shy about delving into very graphic descriptions of disturbing and violent content. Chapman jumps straight into these elements, not even 30 pages into the book, so if you pick it up, please be advised that this book is not for the squeamish. Please read the trigger warnings for this one if you are sensitive to certain horror elements.

Overall, I must commend Chapman for his courage to write a book like this in our current political climate. It does an amazing job of pointing out the flaws of our current views on politics while also calling out the toxic consumption of social media and screen time. If you read the book Earthlings by Sayaka Murata and had a great time, you may enjoy this one 😬
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intention_elle's review

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

5.0

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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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eevee314's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.25

Damn this was frustrating. 
I partially blame the book blurb because I wanted a different book that I got but still I adjusted.
There was a lack of nuance where It just started to feel like punching down half way through the book. Plus the change in voice in the back quarter killed any sense of tention that the front half was actually quite good at maintaining.

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aghoststory's review

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

3.5

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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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talislibrary's review against another edition

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4.0

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