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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Graphic violence from infected individuals; the horror is physical and the deaths disturbing
Language
A lot
Strong language throughout in Tremblay's realistic register
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The real-world proximity of pandemic panic makes the novel's scenario more psychologically disturbing than typical horror; the ending is genuinely bleak
What this book is about
Paul Tremblay's 2020 horror novel depicts a hyper-virulent strain of rabies spreading through Massachusetts over the course of a single afternoon. A doctor and her pregnant friend race to safety while the outbreak spreads. Written during the pandemic, the novel has a procedural authenticity that makes it more unsettling than most genre horror. Violence is frequent and graphic — the rabid are dangerous and the deaths are ugly. Tremblay is one of contemporary horror's most serious writers, and this is among his most viscerally effective books.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Graphic violence from pandemic violence
Bleak ending
Pandemic horror with real-world resonance
Reader Verification
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