Scan barcode
demonxore's reviews
107 reviews
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I won't call this a hopeful book by a long shot, but maybe you should read it if you think people are more evil nowadays than they have been in the past. Child of God is a gritty piece of literature and is a bit painful to read at times (especially since I grew up partly in East Tennessee and can picture these characters in living shoes), but there are some real nuggets of truth buried in the grime.
Also THIS BOOK IS HELLA TRIGGERING for me since I grew up in an environment similar to the place depicted in Child of God. Read with caution wrt sexual abuse, physical abuse, incestuous rape, murder, desecration of corpses, child abuse, animal cruelty.
Also THIS BOOK IS HELLA TRIGGERING for me since I grew up in an environment similar to the place depicted in Child of God. Read with caution wrt sexual abuse, physical abuse, incestuous rape, murder, desecration of corpses, child abuse, animal cruelty.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Seven Empty Houses is a collection of primo domestic horror a la Shirley Jackson. My favorites are "None of That" and "Breath from the Depths." "My Parents and My Children" was a bit of a different speed and had me laughing at the end. After reading this set of stories and her novel Fever Dream, I can say that Schweblin is now firmly on my list of favorite contemporary authors.
Veniss Underground by Jeff VanderMeer
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
3.5
Imagine that visit-to-the-magic-shop installment of Goosebumps but make it scary for adults. Veniss Underground is patent VanderMeer stuff - a piece of pure gory bio-cyberpunk. The kitten with the compound eyes and the cadaver cathedral scenes were stomach-turning. This genre isn't exactly my type of book, but the author did a good job with it.
The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems by Matt Simon
informative
fast-paced
2.0
The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar:
Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems - a superficial survey into the world's weirdest critters.
Matt Simon has a hard-on for anuses and Charles Darwin. There's nothing wrong with that! But the book only scratches the surface of all these weird anus-dwelling animals and amounts to essentially a teaser trailer for interesting evolutionary patterns. If you want to learn more about the bizarre ways life has evolved, you'll have to dig through Wikipedia and research articles go beyond the few "didja-knows" listed in this book.
Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems - a superficial survey into the world's weirdest critters.
Matt Simon has a hard-on for anuses and Charles Darwin. There's nothing wrong with that! But the book only scratches the surface of all these weird anus-dwelling animals and amounts to essentially a teaser trailer for interesting evolutionary patterns. If you want to learn more about the bizarre ways life has evolved, you'll have to dig through Wikipedia and research articles go beyond the few "didja-knows" listed in this book.
The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
slow-paced
2.5
This was written very beautifully, but unfortunately I found it quite boring. Maybe I'll catch some obscure references to this story in books I read in the future.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.5
This is a very interesting set of cases but the writing is a bit lackluster. I am excited for the film release later this year. I'm sure it will be riveting and will bring much needed awareness to these crimes against the Osage people.
Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Ch'eng-En
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
Sun Wukong is my new favorite superhero.
Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco
medium-paced
2.0
Burnt Offerings was not a very exciting book. Not much happened and the events that did transpire weren't frightening in the least. Maybe it's because there's not much that can be done with the haunted house concept if you're avoiding ghosts outright.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
It's no Jane Eyre, but entertaining enough.
Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This book is kind of difficult to rate since it's not in my typical literary regimen. The genre is a blend of political intrigue, philosophical reflection, sci-fi, and fantasy. Usually books that focus on intrigue, subterfuge, and an incredibly deep well of plot twists are not my thing, but this book pulls it off in a way that maintains my interest and doesn't make me roll my eyes. Palmer gives you just enough to make you think and then leaves you two stew on it a bit, thinking of all the implications this new detail will have on the characters you've become invested in. Of course I'll now read the next book in the quartet.