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sims2machinima's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
no but seriously, this is definitely an interesting read. i had to read the book from a pro-vivisection/anti-vivisection perspective for a class presentation, and i think its commentary on human nature is very thought-provoking yet at the same time quite upsetting. at the end of the day, even when presented with something horrible happening, most of us will do nothing about it and instead focus on our own self-preservation.
(yes, i do realize h.g. wells supported vivisection in specific circumstances, but i felt it was hard to see the piece as pro-vivisection because of how difficult it is to sympathize with prendick, who only acts in ways that promote human superiority and hypocrisy; i do not think the intended humanism was successful)
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Gore, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racial slurs and Suicidal thoughts
VIVISECTION AND ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION!cpestepp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Racism and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism
fieval_loves_books's review against another edition
- 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
Early science fiction! The book is much better when you understand the historical context in which it is written. Otherwise it can seem a bit….goofy..
Victorian paranoia around scientific advancement and particularly vivisection put the horror element into context.
The mystery of what the island is becomes relatively apparently early in the book.
It’s a short read but also fun to listen to on audiobook. good to read if you are interested in the development of the horror genre / science fiction and how monsters are a reflection of societies paranoia.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Understanding the context in which this book was writing is essential to enjoying and getting the most out of the book.simonnebee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
Contains outdated words that have different meanings now.mousecat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
sarahsemeniuk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Racism, Murder, and Alcohol
captain_capslock's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Something that everyone, including every adaptation, gets wrong is that they think he's combining humans and animals. He's not. He's vivisecting animals and surgically deforming their bodies to look more human, believing that if they look at least humanoid they'll suddenly 'become' human. They're just innocent animals living in horrific pain and existential terror. None of this is their fault.
The parallels with colonial racism are obvious, and the metaphor here is so ugly I'm not going to touch it with a ten foot pole, not here at least.
The narrator, Edward Prendrck, is... well, he's evil. Horribly, painfully evil. He's borderline more evil that Moreau himself. Reading the book is made all the more difficult because we're having to listen to his burning hatred for everyone around him, especially the animals. He H A T E S the animals, only because they look weird. He actually uses the word 'hate' on practically every page. Knowing that this is a metaphor for colonialism, this paints a reeeally bad light on our protag here. The part that gave me pause was when he and Montgomery commit a genocide. Here's how he describes it:
"Then we went into the laboratory and put an end to all we found living there."
That's it. They shoot up what is essentially the animal (occupied nations) version of Unit 731 and that's all we get about it. No remorse. No sadness. No Guilt. NO EMPATHY. It never even comes up again.
Absolutely brutal.
Extremely disturbing book. That's not a compliment.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Murder
tmwarner_1994's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder
devermismysteris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail