Reviews tagging 'War'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

89 reviews

vee_eb's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Prescient novel. Butler drew from real history and then current events to accurately predict what the 2020s are shaping up to be. And it's dark.

Favourite quote:
"It's better to teach people than to scare them, Lauren. If you scare them and nothing happens, they lose their gear, and you lose some of your authority with them. It's harder to scare them a second time, harder to teach them, harder to win back their trust. Best to begin by teaching."

The only thing I would say is that because I'm not religious in the slightest, some of the belief system doesn't make much of an impression on me as I shy away from religion in all forms. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

mintyemmie's review

dark hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Read for class but I enjoyed it more than I thought!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Murder, and War

molly_boyd_'s review

dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

The had some really good reflective moments. It was written in the 1990s about the 2020s and it’s startling to see the similarities between the book’s world and the real world. It was a graphic read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and War

delaneyxclara's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Incredibly haunting dystopian parable that aligns with many things we are seeing today in the U.S.. it is a heavy & reflective read that I firmly believe everyone needs to read. It was written in the 1990’s but takes place in modern time. Can’t recommend enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism

charliesshit's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

dannyingram97's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Excellent world building and emotional storytelling. I only think there wasn’t enough of it and I’ve ordered the sequel already.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Cannibalism

totesyotes's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An absolute masterpiece. You will double take at Butler's prescience and prophetic portrayal of a 2024 united states gone wrong, written in 1993. You will double take. You will say "wtf" out loud. Your friends will ask how your book is going, and you will respond "Terrible." with a smile. Readers be warned of a very, very long list of trigger warnings. Take care of yourself and be gentle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Gigantic content warning. Incredible book.

augustine_em's review

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Drug abuse, Racism, Cannibalism, and War

appleinamerica's review

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I wouldn’t recommend starting to read this in 2024, but by the end, it gave me hope in our current political climate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

brigottabooty22's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Beginning half is a bit slow but it builds up to a REALLY good second half 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, and War