Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

59 reviews

birdie770's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood

charrlee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

Octavia Butler's work in this novel makes you squirm --- it is meant to, and her writing here has been one of the most uncomfortable reading experiences I've had. I'm unsure how to accurately summarize the journey Fledgling has put me through, but I will say Butler has yet to fail in her deliveries. 

This is a text that will have you traversing the themes of blackness & fugitivity and hybridity & "naturalness" while questioning who assumes the role of monsters. Humanity is found in unexpected places as Butler subverts, complicates, and rewrites the expectations and rules of the common Western vampire trope. There is much to discuss about the moral quandaries this book offers. It was a challenging read and probably one of the more horrific books I've read to date.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Racism, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Hate crime

Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Classism, Gore, Torture, Physical abuse, Addiction, Slavery, Colonisation, and Racial slurs

happinessie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Racism, Medical trauma, Hate crime, and Gun violence

adiajamille's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I found that i definitely wanted to see where it was going, but that it felt a bit dry. I supposed it’s because Shuri isn’t human and therefore doesn’t speak, think, or process like a human. I thought it was a great introduction to a new series (if that were the intent) and sad, because this one could definitely build into something really exciting. 


I thought a bigger issue than Shuri’s appearance was the excessive ableism displayed during the final chapters of the book. 

The continued discussion around Shuri’s appearance is interesting considering there are real human adults that have genetic conditions that make them appear as children. I would love to find out the reasoning behind Shuri’s appearance, although I felt it was thoroughly explained. (Potential spoilers)
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The part I felt curious about, and I’ll have to look in the book as I listened on audiobook and wasn’t able to rewind at the time, I’d was Wright actually a pedophile? I swear there was allusion to it. 

Overall I think this book brought up a lot of things that need to be examined. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Gaslighting, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, and Violence

tishtashohmygosh's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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

4.0

 

Octavia Butler expertly explores themes of racism and ageism—among others—in a take on vampires that I haven’t encountered before. The novel follows a young Ina named Shori who awakens in a cave heavily injured and with no memories. She learns of the history and culture of the Ina, the political ties between Ina families, and the conspiracy that led to her being injured in the first place. 

Things I Liked: 

The characters feel like authentic people rather than tropes or caricatures and the relationships they build with each other are engaging. There is LGBTQ+ representation in the cast of characters which is something I'm always seeking out. The pacing is consistent and at no point did it feel too fast or too slow to me. The world building is thorough and in depth and feels naturally integrated into the modern setting. It has the found family trope, which I am always on board for.

Disliked: 

My primary dislike/discomfort with the novel comes from

the explicit sexual scenes between a person who has the physical appearance of a 10-year-old (even though she is said to be 53 years old) and multiple adults.

I know that this is an intentional discomfort, but it is something I wanted to mention also as a potential trigger warning. 

Overall, I very much enjoyed Fledgling as much I have enjoyed reading some of Butler’s other works. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Blood and Violence

I didn't tag it as pedophilia because the characters are technically all adults (which is explicitly stated in the novel), but the main character has the appearance of a child and she does engage in sexual acts with adult characters.

maregred's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Slavery and Grief

athnyx230's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Murder

takemetomilos's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

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

4.25

another book that is going to stick with me- I need to reflect further on the themes and messaging beyond what a first casual read can give, but wow, what a book.

The Atlantic has a fantastic article about it which is helpful is clarifying the authors intentions in upsetting the consent dynamics - shori’s physical presentation and sexual relationship is definitely wildly uncomfortable, but knowing Butler as an author is to know that nothing is without reason. The complains of pedophilia are entirely reasonable and turn a lot of people away from this book, and would have for me if I was not so confident in Butler’s voice.

https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2022/02/fledgling-octavia-butler-reissue-consent/621420/

(Moving review down from 5.0 to 4.25 stars- horror aspects didn’t stick with me as much, wish consent dynamics were explored further) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent and Grief

Minor: Racial slurs

risaleel's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, and Genocide

Moderate: Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Racism, War, Violence, and Racial slurs

Minor: Gaslighting, Classism, Gore, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, and Drug use

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Violence, Medical trauma, Blood, and Gun violence