Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

23 reviews

growintogardens's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

I've been meaning to read her work and this book fit one of my reading challenges. A great collection of stories. Some were super disturbing at times, but all them were well written and made me think. The second to last one was probably my favorite. So strange, but powerful. She's definitely great at Sci fi and I'm excited to read more of her stuff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Gore, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Medical trauma, War, Grief, Misogyny, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Incest, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Slavery, Body horror, Confinement, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Drug use, and Racial slurs

I'm probably forgetting stuff- there's a lot of triggers.

quarkie's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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've never read any Octavia Butler before, and now I'm wondering what took me so long. Even though in the preface she talks about how she's nor really a writer of short stories, I found these very compelling.

The overarching theme seemed to be "take a societal rule or norm, break it, and then tell a very human and empathic story about those who are involved." In this collection, Butler picked a few very heavy topics such as forced pregnancy, genetic disease, incest, paranoia and delusion, government interrogation, and utopia. But in all cases, she shines such a human light on these challenging topics, and presents you with such different perspectives. I also love that she gives a brief afterward for every story, giving you a glimpse into her thought process or the inspiration for the story.

Really, the only reason I took off a fraction of a star is because sometimes the topics are quite heavy, making them difficult to read.

The two essays that she includes are incredibly compelling. She says that the best part of her is her fiction, but the contents of her essays had me in tears. They contain so much wisdom not just for writers, but for everyone pursuing a path that is difficult.

There were a few quotes that I liked so much that I am considering buying the book, just so I can look back on them:
"If you hard enough at something that doesn't matter, you can forget for a while about the things that do."
"Decide what you want. Aim high. Go for it."
"Make a habit of doing your best."
"If the idea of doing this scares you, fine. Go ahead and be afraid."
"It's amazing what we can do if we simply refuse to give up. I suspect that this is the most important thing I've said in all my interviews and talks as well as in this book. It's a truth that applies to more than writing. It applies to anything that is important, but difficult, important, but frightening. We're all capable of climbing so much higher than we usually permit ourselves to suppose. The word, again, is "persist"!"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, and Body horror

Moderate: Incest

readingbrb's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Rape, Confinement, and Self harm

Minor: Miscarriage, Death, and Gore

jakobvongunten's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Confinement, Medical trauma, and Gore

Moderate: Incest, Ableism, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Body horror

dpmpgh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Incest

suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Similar to many of the other reviews, it is crazy to believe that Butler was not a person fond of short stories, since she really excels in this little collection! And like all short story collections, there will be some that are not the most interesting, are harder to get into and envision, and some that hit powerfully and, before you know it, you are reading the same page over and over again to picture the scene again and savor such. All in all, something that I really loved about this collection, and where I think every story connects, is that— whether they be utopias or personal hells— every story centers on communication. By communication I mean what it takes for one to understand another while also relaying messages common to any science-fiction stories on self-determination, hope/longing/desire (what defines and separates them), and critically wondering what humanity has to offer in times of great political, social, or even moments of intense moral despair. Mesh that with slightly philosophical musings on free will, religion, and human domination in our interactions with our environments, and in the end you get a stunning and powerful book that fits itself well within Butler's collection. In particular, I really enjoyed Bloodchild, Speech Sounds, Positive Obsession, and The Book of Martha!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Suicide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Colonisation and Incest

trips's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad fast-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

5.0

Its been quite a while since I've read Butler. And wow, I forgot how she had these crazy ideas come out of her head and turned them into compelling, beautifully written stories. Some of her stories made me shudder, and some made me reflect on what I had just written in a way no other book has done in a while.
I don't really want to spoil anything, so here is how I felt about each story in a few words: 

Blood Child: Oh wow, that is terrifying.
The Evening And The Morning And The Night: Creepy, yet made me feel empathy towards the characters.
Near of Kin: Eh? Huh?...Why?
Speech Sounds: Powerful in an unexpected way.
Cross over: Haunting.
Positive Obsession: I loved this!
Furor Scribendi: Beautiful and helpful!
Amnesty: What did I just read?? 
The Book of Martha: I wonder how it would work!

That is all I will say. I hope to read more Butler in the months to come, her words are always so powerful and gripping to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gun violence

Moderate: Gore, Xenophobia, Child death, and Death

Minor: Alcohol

katie_k1's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Gore

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

annamorgan27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Violence, Torture, Medical trauma, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

lmaowolf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Body horror, Gore, and Self harm

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Abortion and Rape

minor self cannibalism, male pregnancy