Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

17 reviews

bilal_shumuus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gore, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Body horror, Classism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, Infidelity, Animal death, Genocide, Grief, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: War, Cannibalism, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry

jalexpulliamkepler's review

challenging dark slow-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

3.75

complex but lacked the tension to be truly engaging. It honestly feels like the prologue of a different story (which it kinda is)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Pedophilia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Grief, Slavery, Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Blood, Cursing, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Physical abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, and Death of parent

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Anyanwu and Doro are powerful, immortal, godlike beings who may or may not be human. What a wild, up and down ride with a slow burn satisfying (?) payoff. It was a lot of fun seeing the ways that Anyanwu challenged Doro, and I loved the insight we got into her body-focused powers (which reminded me of the Ooloi from Butler’s Xenogenesis saga). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Abandonment, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Medical content, Incest, Rape, Grief, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness

yomireads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

So, as a whole, this book is well written, and its clear that Octavia E Butler has a strong grasp of her craft. Anyanwu and Doror both are well shaped characters with strong wills that clash, neither bending easily to the other. The abilities and the exploration of these otherworldly abilities is captivating to be sure. The dark and keen look at slavery and the loss of autonomy is very intentional and poignant. 

But God was I uncomfortable the entirety of this novel. I'm positive the discomfort is intentional, the fear, rage, and overall frustration simmering just below boiling from the start is intentional, but the obstinate refusal of the clearly villainous Doro to have any sort of real character growth for literal centuries made me want to chuck this book into an ocean.

The incest was obscene. Eugenics at its finest (most disturbing). And the strange pervasive nature of misogyny in characters who can shift their sex at will wildly frustrating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Cannibalism, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

abmochapman's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

this just confirms octavia butler is a FREAK

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery

loristoudenmier's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child death, Incest, Slavery, Death, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

4.0

I can't even with this book. This was my first Octavia Butler book, and it was INTENSE. It's like Butler looked at every possible taboo and was like let's do this.  Slavery, yes. Eugenics, yes. Murder for compliance, yes. Incest, yes. 

 Anyanwu is a woman in Africa who can shapeshift and heal her self and others. Doro is an ancient "something" that can inhabit other bodies he kills. This book explores their dynamic as two people outside of time. 

Doro is one of darkest, nastiest villains in any book I have ever read. Check the trigger warnings. If you decided to read, go with god/the gods/your own convictions.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, Murder, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, and Xenophobia

storyorc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

As much and as often as I wanted to condemn characters in this book, they're written with such rich humanity that it would feel hypocritical. Butler holds your eyelids open, Clockwork Orange style, to the ugliness of a soul under impossible strain until you admit you feel for them. Wild Seed does not sidestep the racial tensions of 1600s-1800s Africa and America either, but rather lets it inform and enrich the more insular struggles of these little communities of enhanced humans. Our main characters, Anyanwu and Doro, are immortal shapeshifters (though in thematically very different ways) and therefore make for an incredible vehicle to grasp at the ever-shifting, ever-evolving nature of humanity with all its flaws and spirit. Many side characters tug on the heartstrings as well.

Wild Seed does take its time but the effect is mesmerising rather than dull. I read it in two sittings, faster than I've read much shorter novels. It's also a world apart from the usual sci-fi novels I read from this era in terms of queer acceptance (and obviously feminism and anti-fascism). These shapeshifters are practical enough to be mostly unfazed by sex between all kinds of different bodies.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicide, and Incest

Minor: Pedophilia and Ableism

These topics are not presented uncritically at all.

sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

💬: "“I am old,” she said, masking her fear with anger. “I could be your mother’s mother!” She could have been an ancestor of his mother’s mother. But she kept that to herself. “Who are you?” she demanded. “I could be your mother’s father,” he said. She took another step backward, somehow controlling her growing fear.

Butler, Octavia E.. Wild Seed (The Patternist Series Book 1) (p. 11). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: adult, science fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction

📚Page Count: 404

🎧Audiobook Length: 11h 09min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 

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One of my favorite books of all time. Amazing.

5/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


I loved this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Death

saltycoffee's review

challenging dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Racial slurs, and Slavery