Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

115 reviews

tfaydoyle's review

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

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

5.0

Riveting science fiction, though now seems more real than fiction.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

laurenlimabean's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.75

I think others can agree that this book is 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

dontlittledo's review

dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.75

The actual written language is good, but the storyline is 75% build-up... And the ending is abrupt, incomplete. It almost feels thrown together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

silverhill's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Blood, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

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.

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

thefluffyowl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Despite the heavy content, this should be required reading.

chanlo1994's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.75

I wouldn't have picked this up if didn't get the free audiobook credit for it. It was fascinating to see a 90's perspective of 2024, which is the year I read this book, and the author's predictions of what the world would come to in a worst case scenario. Aside from the very extreme dystopian ideas, there are some parallels to today's world. I think we're lucky our government system hasn't failed us (yet) and this book is a stark reminder of what could come should we, as a community and society, fail. Not just each other, but ourselves. In the book, it's mentioned how "backwards we've become" and I know, with recent events, we've definitely heard that a time or two.

It is heavily Christian based, but it also expands from those teachings.

Pretty much if The Purge exists all day every day for years on end, this is what it would be like. I wouldn't be surprised if The Purge was partially inspired by this book.

Oh, and it's most certainly a book about the formation of a cult. Lol. But a good cult? It's yet to be seen.

Side note: because it was recorded in 1999, the end credits are delightfully dated lololol. Saying we could fax them to order a new book and such. I loved it lol.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

Minor: Hate crime and Kidnapping

This is a heavily triggered book for nearly every topic.