Reviews tagging 'Incest'

El castillo de Otranto by Horace Walpole

7 reviews

cyandelirium's review against another edition

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

3.25

I have a terrible tendency to take these classics too seriously and only realise belatedly —— wait, was that meant to be funny? 

With that new perspective on mind, this story is suddenly a lot more enjoyable, where you just gotta roll with the punches and enjoy the ride. 

It's a fascinating read to see how much Gothic romances have evolved, yet remained the same, since the og. The atmosphere and setting was really well set up with its long winding secret passageways and haunting castles. 

The plot twists are also absurdly fun, even if the characters are all so frustrating and irritating to read. I'm surprised not to have heard or seen any notable theatre adaptations of this, because I feel like this could be a really fun play. Especially with all the servants' dialogue. -- Actually, all of the dialogue in this story is great. 

Then, googling more about Walpole I have also learnt to appreciate the themes of the story more. Truly fascinating the way these characters and their motivations, wants and fears parallel Walpole's life. 

Wouldn't reread, but pls hit me up when they need someone put on this play lol. 
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zahrowl's review against another edition

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

4.0

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-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

3.75

Everything I thought the first gothic novel would be. You’ve got that “is it supernatural?” element, dark, foreboding castle, a main character going off the deep end, and a troubled romantic subplot. The narrator of this audiobook was excellent and I’m going to need to see a Mike Flanagan adaptation of this one.
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lagomorpheus's review against another edition

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

3.5

i think there’s a lot of telling instead of showing, but besides that, i really liked all the twists and turns!
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bweeb's review against another edition

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

3.75

As a precursor to the gothic genre, or as the first gothic novel, you can indeed see the cultural influence it has had on the genre as a whole; from the suspense, terror, and horror, to the treatment of the divine, the gothic, and the supernatural, it is a masterpiece. In terms of plot, it is interesting, but at times does fall flat - whether it be the lack of description or excess of exposition, it feels dull or not fully fleshed-out. The fast-pace of the novel is often juxtaposed by long bouts of dialogue, but I would still consider it to be extremely fast-paced. As such, I found myself struggling to connect with characters. This being said, the pace certainly held the suspense throughout the novel, and was seldom diffused until the end of the novel and sometimes of the chapter. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, but it does not come without its flaws. A great read if you're interested in the gothic genre, but I would not necessarily call it the epitome of the gothic genre.
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bookgrowsoul's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
This is the worst book I have ever read 
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rey_therese07's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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