Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

162 reviews

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark reflective sad

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Fatphobia, Excrement, and Vomit

Adult/minor relationship warning is also for a relationship between a grown adult and an 18-year-old.

retiredepisodian2robloxian's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I really enjoyed Parable of the Sower, it’s message overall is compelling to read within the year it takes place in. I want to read the second book as I am interested to see where it will go. I highly recommend this novel and found myself always entertained and fully immersed when reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Murder

ib_ratton's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

Leave it to Octavia Butler to predict the fall of civilization in 2024...

I love literary apocalypse books like these! The character focus, the slow changes of society to ruin, and the need for man to band together to create something better are themes heavy in this book. And although they're not any original ideas, the writing is truly unique and makes the story extremely compelling. 

Trigger warnings for just about everything as the book touches on some gruesome topics. But if you like Books like The Road by Cormac McCarthy, you'll enjoy this one even more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, and Cannibalism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content

katrinarose's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0

While a little slow to start, this book absolutely gripped me. It’s definitely the best bleak post-apocalyptic survival book I’ve read (although in this story there’s no distinct apocalyptic event, it’s just the degradation of society). It reminds me a bit of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, and I think it’s impossible Parable of the Sower didn’t inspire it, but this came first and was done better. 

I really liked Lauren as a character and the development of her religion. She is a very stoic character for all the trauma she experiences but yet I don’t find it that unbelievable - between her religious beliefs and the fact that the whole story is her journal she wrote (she could be writing in a more serious tone than if we got a first person POV narration) - I think it makes sense. I admire her a lot. The other characters aren’t quite as well-developed as her but I liked how every character had something unique to add. 

I do wish there was more explanation for how the world devolved to this point (yet they still had to pay property taxes while arson and murder were everyday occurrences?) but it didn’t take away much from the story. Overall this was depressing and full of triggering topics but very hopeful at the same time, and I would recommend it for anyone interested in a semi-realistic dystopian.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy

em_the_cat's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Classism

cadence99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

4.25

This would be a five star read for me if not for the relationship with Bankole. The power dynamic felt INCREDIBLY gross, not just because of the age difference (he is apparently old enough to be her grandfather) but because of his ownership of (potentially) safe land and his skill as a doctor. In addition, I really didn’t appreciate the weird dismissive way he treated her views surrounding earthseed. 

HOWEVER, moving on from that whole mess- this was a fantastic book overall. The world felt so rich and uncomfortably real, tackling huge questions on human nature and morality. I think my favorite part of the book was the lens of mercy and understanding that our MC gave even to the people who displayed the most reprehensible, violent behavior. Despite being victim to the same dystopia as every one of our characters, Lauren brings with her a unique understanding of human nature, and a compassion towards even those who have the potential to do her harm. I think her wisdom in that realm is what allows her to begin developing Earthseed, and ultimately, allows her to survive. I look forward to reading the second book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

romanticmelody's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Cannibalism

loxeletters's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A very interesting look into a contemporary world falling apart: how slavery would play out in the modern day; the effects of chemical drug use, climate change, lack of information; the slow breakdown of the state. Related to this, the protagonist explores some very interesting ideas about religion and philosophy. 

There is an age gap romance in this that made me somewhat uncomfortable, and I would have liked to see some exploration of the world beyond the United States. (Even with the limited communication technology available in the setting, I would expect at least some knowledge about the rest of the world. Esp. given that they do have a TV in the beginning, plus radio.) This might be simply an accurate portrayal of American news coverage, though it  speaks nevertheless to the general issue of US American self-centredness. Hopefully the sequel will give some insights here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content

twu's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

mmestitches's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

Powerful boo, but stressful to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail