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rhymeswithcarmen's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
aktivmuede's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Cannibalism
ravenrobbins's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
I think I need to read something bubbly next…
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
annatollia's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Racism, and Slavery
Minor: Animal death
nburkk's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
nonamenogender's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
The crazies/paints/junkies in the book are all murderous psychopaths who take pleasure in burning things and people. They are portrayed as less than human, monsters. And their behavior IS monstrous, but we get no explanation for this other than the drug makes watching fire better than sex. None of the primary characters, other than Keith, who is also a monster, use drugs.
The moment I kept waiting for that never came was either for Lauren to meet a drug user who doesn't fulfill the mold established earlier, or for the crazies to be more than just junkies, and some kind of violent political group or criminal enterprise. But no, their violence is always senseless and brutal.
This wouldn't bother me so much if the drug "pyro" wasn't such a major part of the storytelling. It plays on the racist fears around the crack epidemic, but not in any way that challenges them. The only hint that how Lauren describes drug users is not accurate to the world she lives in, is that her perspective is often naive, and sometimes narrow minded. Butler says the parable books are what she imagined could happen if the worst of societies problems were allowed to continue unchecked. in that context, "pyro" is the least realistic aspect of the book.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
aishallnot's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
there's an age gap relationship in this book so cw for that as welljoshtuttle's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
elg1105's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, Trafficking, and Cannibalism
dreamingandendless's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
My rating is absolutely my subjective opinion. I know that people really like the worldbuildung and think it's prescient in a lot of ways. It is, however, too gloomy. If the government were to break down in such an extreme way, communities would have turned into themselves and built upon each other. We haven't gotten as far as we've gotten as a species because we turn against each other each time that times get tough and resources are scarce. We form community. Yes, communities will tend to not be welcoming to outsiders if resources are scarce. But I find it very hard to believe that in all their travels, Lauren and her group are the only ones who end up in community. That there aren't any other examples of community just boggles my mind.
The darkness and severity of this book just seem off to me. Exaggerating the darkest impulses of humans to prop up the protagonist and her religion. I can't see how Lauren got to Earthseed based on her lived experience and how her character is described. She is too often thinking solely about herself and requires to much input from other people to do things that you'd expect someone who came up with this religion to do by themselves. Lauren barely walks the walk. The only reason that the people around Lauren get into earthseed is because how dire the situation is.
I also thought that the fire drug was silly as hell. Yeah, it's supposed to show how people can find pleasure out of destruction and how that affects us negatively. I still think it's quite silly and can't take it seriously.
In short: the world is extremely dark and exists mostly to prop up the main character. The main character creates a caring religion despite herself not really ever showing emotions (the book is basically her diary). People join the character because there's nothing else.
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence