Books about violence – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby

The Kindle cover of Razorblade Tears, depicting two men in silhouette stumbling down a lonely dirt road somewhere in the South, is on a red lacquer coffee table. Flowers and votive candles are in the background.

[REVIEW] The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones

My hand holds up a Kindle displaying the cover of The Only Good Indians--a mysterious pair of antlers in the dark. In the background, there is a huge and creepy old house, a condemned sign barely visible.

(Buy this book.) Listen. This horror novel has been out for two years now, so I’m just going to go ahead and start with a spoiler. The monster is an elk. If you’re like me and your initial response to that is to lean back and say “pfffft, LAME!”, then you should also read thisContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones”

[REVIEW] First Blood, by David Morrell

A tablet displaying the cover of First Blood is held up in front of a leafless fall tree at twilight. The cover depicts a lone man standing in shadow, looking towards a light.

(Buy it here.) I remember thinking, the first time I watched the Sylvester Stallone film Rambo: First Blood, that it wasn’t what I expected at all. I expected a dumb, violent, muscley action flick. It is all of that, but wrapped around a surprisingly empathetic portrayal of a scared young Vietnam vet with PTSD usingContinue reading “[REVIEW] First Blood, by David Morrell”

[Review] The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang

An ebook showing the black and white stylized Chinese culture-influenced cover of The Dragon Republic lays flat on a wooden table. A big black bowl of tan tan mien, or spicy pork and sesame noodles, is in the background.

(Buy it on Bookshop here.) I spent the first quarter of this Poppy War sequel trying to remember why I liked the first book. Main character Rin is probably the most despicable hero I’ve ever encountered. Sure, she’s a fire-wielding martially-trained shaman-powered genius badass who singlehandedly won a war. She’s also a genocidal maniac.(If you’veContinue reading “[Review] The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang”

[REVIEW] Sula, Toni Morrison

(Buy it HERE.) (In lieu of the usual review, I present to you the explanation of this book that I gave to a non-American friend who has never read Toni Morrison before.)⠀📖⠀“This book? Yeah, it’s good, but I’m not sure you’d like it. It’s by this writer who won a Pulitzer prize & was famousContinue reading “[REVIEW] Sula, Toni Morrison”

[REVIEW] The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀⠀ First of all, yes, I know that’s not a poppy in the picture. There aren’t any growing in my neighborhood this year, unfortunately.⠀ Secondly, this review is a little spoiler-y. I won’t give away any major character-based plot points, but I will allude to a major event in the plot without giving any details.Continue reading “[REVIEW] The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang”