Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

7 reviews

anditsreal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

I always forget why I love short stories, until I read them again. Butler was a wonderful writer and getting a little glimpse of her mind from her afterwords is a privilege. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, Medical trauma, Animal death, Death, and Mental illness

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

szuum's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Terminal illness, Animal death, Death of parent, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, Torture, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Gore

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Rape, Child death, and Miscarriage

Minor: Cancer

mrsdarcylynn's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

More than 10 years after being handed this book in a college level English class, I have finally read beyond the titular short story!

There is something compelling about Octavia Butler’s writing. Something that pulls you into her world and leaves you wanting more. 

I’m so glad I finally finished this collection of short stories. I will think about and come back to many of them for quite some time. And, if anything else, I hope I walk away from this reading experience and persist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Incest, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Confinement, and Animal death

Moderate: Death and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Sexual violence

Many of the short stories have multiple trigger warnings, all have at least one. Read with self care in mind ♥️ These stories are heavy, but thoughtful too.

cyrinw98's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense slow-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? N/A

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, and Incest

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

I had high hopes when I started reading this short story collection, and am thrilled to say that all of them were met. Butler's work is masterful, she developed dynamic, complex worlds and characters with more skill in thirty pages than some writers have in hundreds. Each of these stories were told with a precision that made them seem much longer than they actually were, leaving me with the feeling that I had read in epic involving her alien and apocalyptic societies when in reality I had absorbed them in only a half-hour. I also appreciated that this collection included afterwords and essays written by Butler. It was interesting to understand the inspiration behind each of her pieces, and her perspectives on writing in general. Her resolve that writing is a skill to be practiced, and one enhanced not by talent but by persistence, is necessary for any wannabe writer, including myself, to accept. Such an attitude made us fortunate enough to read her award-winning works despite the professors and publishers who did not initially recognize their value.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Blood, Animal death, Confinement, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content