Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Mind of my Mind by Octavia E. Butler

11 reviews

storyorc's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Few prequels are able to turn their prequelness into such a roaring advantage. Since we already know the general trajectory of this world, the narrative is under none of the usual pressures to keep this collection of telepath's powers modest, controlled, or even particularly under wraps. This allows it to really dig into what telepaths could do to our society - or more broadly, what people with unanswerable power can do. Having one telepath positioned above the rest only adds nuance to the power structure. A lot of books will soften their hypothetical scenarios by making the powerful side pure evil or making a vigilante beloved by the people to excuse their extrajudicial violence but Butler does not shy away from the complications of her setup. There is a very specific horror in watching people grow accustomed to - even happy with - a lack of freedom. The greater good of society vs freedom of the individual tension is acutely felt. This gave me a similar mounting dread on the ideological level as the 2024 Dune II film.

Even as the book generates this great and horrible sense of hurtling toward tragedy on the macro scale, my ignorance of the details of the original novel kept me on the edge of my seat in regards to  the fates of certain characters. Doro is still the monster from Wild Seed but also still not without love and loneliness and a very human arrogance. Butler excels in seeding the reader with an insidious pride and curiosity in his millennia-spanning project despite its sickening cost simply because there is no-one else reaching as high as he is. Mary is easier to root for, but prone to an equally human pettiness, bitterness, and that same arrogance. She is no benevolent dictator, much as she might wish to be, and her abilities amplify her little cruelties through her impressive creations in fascinating ways. In the end, they are all just people struggling with issues far bigger than any single person should be. It makes the book hard to put down. Thankfully, the novel's final gift is that it's pretty short.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Misogyny and Racism

gabfat's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Child death

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault

larbster90's review against another edition

challenging mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Body horror, and Child abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Slavery, Abandonment, Incest, and Medical content

Minor: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs

kenrya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Incest, Slavery, Alcoholism, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Sexism, Child abuse, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

scifi_rat's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Slavery, Incest, Infidelity, Death, Child death, Chronic illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Minor: Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Medical content, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Car accident

becksusername's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

Holy shit 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Mental illness, Racism, Pregnancy, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, and Self harm

jessthanthree's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Xenophobia and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

belovedsnail's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

I was sorry to lose Emma’s voice in this book, but enjoyed the evolution and development. I appreciate the moral complexity of Butler’s world building. There is not a single idealistic thing about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Child abuse

Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Violence

albernikolauras's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I enjoyed this book a lot more than Wild Seed for a couple reasons - the more condensed timeline, the change in characters, and the plot. I also found myself more able to pull the themes and discussions out of this book, which could be because I am getting better at Butler but also she could have been more blatantly making a point. There was such interesting discussions on race (especially how you view your own race?), power dynamics, and slavery & societies built on the enslavement of others. Also a highlight - learning why the series is called the Patternist series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Incest, Racism, and Rape

fairyollie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

5.0

Octavia Butler is a genius. she writes about the intersections of race, gender, and religion with sci-fi and a thrilling plot with a stunning, firey, fast end. Nature versus Nurture and Darwin's Natural Selection are big topics in this brilliant read. this book is part of the Patternist series, though they were not published chronologically. I was a silly goose and did not realize that- so next I am reading clays arc then patternist, then finally Wildseed (cuz I hate doro lol) I can't wait to get my grubby little paws on the rest of them >:)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and War