Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

158 reviews

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

loko2493's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

Now that it's 2025, maybe get some context before reading...the book is terrifyingly accurate to the struggles we are currently facing in the US. I started it without really knowing what it was about and right as the wildfires in LA began ramping up. Makes a tough read even tougher, but wow I simply couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Cannibalism, and Abandonment

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.

kiah04's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Trafficking

bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

Sometimes I think about how my country (the U.S) might fall and this isn’t far off from that. After all, Butler’s predictions in this book were inspired by the patterns of our country’s priorities and behaviors for a few hundred years. 
This is a very thoughtful and insightful book that I recommend to everyone. It takes a bit to pick up in the beginning but once it does, I think you’ll understand why it’s so impactful. 
My only qualm is that I wish the lead wasn’t a teen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Gun violence, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kaelaxsuga's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racism, and Cannibalism

cacophonyofpages's review

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

1.0

My first read of 2025 and it was so so disappointing. I honestly don't understand the acclaim that this book has. 

I’d say the writing itself isn’t atrocious, and that’s about the only good thing I can say for Parable of the Sower. 

The main character, Lauren, is absurd. She’s supposed to be hyper-sensitive and hyper-empathetic, yet she comes across as emotionless and detached. It doesn’t add up. Her diary entries are so flat and toneless, they feel like they were written by someone stripped of emotion rather than someone supposedly overwhelmed by feelings and sensations. The book keeps telling us she’s this deeply emotional, intuitive person, but it never shows us. The disconnect is baffling. 

And then there’s her made-up religion, Earthseed. It’s pretentious beyond belief. Somehow, people across a broken and chaotic country decide to follow this 18-year-old’s vague, fortune-cookie wisdom like it’s gospel. Really? In a world falling apart, these people have nothing better to do than listen to her preach? It’s laughable. The entire premise feels ridiculous, as if the author wants us to take this delusional teenager seriously as a self appointed prophet. I couldn’t. I found myself laughing at times at her contrived 'wisdom'. 

I gave up about 220 pages in , at a point when  I felt that if I were to roll my eyes anymore they'd roll right off my head, I ended up just skimming the last 100 or so pages. I couldn’t handle another page of Lauren’s sanctimonious ramblings. If I’d known this book was essentially about a self-important kid founding a cult based on the most incoherent, half-baked philosophy ever, I wouldn’t have picked it up. Going into it blind was a mistake. 

It’s frustrating because the book could have been so much better. There are big, important topics here—racism, sexism, class issues, climate change—but they’re either underdeveloped or drowned out by Lauren’s endless drivel about Earthseed. The beginning showed some promise. There were glimpses of a compelling dystopian, post-apocalyptic world, but most of the interesting plot threads went absolutely nowhere. Instead of exploring this society and its collapse, we got bogged down in Lauren’s preachy cult gatherings. 

I wanted so much more from this book. I wanted a rich, thought-provoking exploration of a broken world and the people trying to survive in it. What I got was a tedious, overwrought narrative about a teenager who thinks she’s the second coming. It was a disappointment, through and through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Incest, Rape, and Torture

ambroselouis's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I found this a gruelling read. I nearly put it down forever. But ultimately this was a really rewarding read. We can still find pockets of goodness and joy even in the worst times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, Police brutality, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Religious bigotry

emadisonc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

There is no end
To what a living world
Will demand of you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Trafficking

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Incest, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

antijeffbozo_love2read's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism