Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

59 reviews

gar42's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I jumped into this right after finishing parable of the sower because I wanted to read more about the good experiences of Acorn. I wasn’t ready for horrors worse than what happened in the first book. 

The parallels between this book and contemporary America are horrific. But the messages of sowing the seeds not for our own gratification, but for the good of those who come after us, are more important than ever. 

Much faster paced than the first book, and a more nuanced, complicated picture of Lauren and of Earthseed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Pedophilia, Suicide, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

lisacanteven's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This series is now my favorite series of all time. I'm having a hard time choosing if I liked the first book or this book better, but I think I liked the first book a little better. The reason is that I did think the ending was a little bit rushed. I don't think it was too rushed, but if I was forced to choose which book I liked more and why that would be my reason. 

I was afraid that this book would end on a huge cliffhanger considering there was supposed to be a third that was never finished before Octavia Butler's death. I'm happy to say that this book could have easily finished the series, and no one would be disappointed. I was so relieved about that, and I thought the way everything wrapped up (except for being a tad bit rushed) was done brilliantly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Classism, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Body horror, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Violence, and War

blessi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Rape, Slavery, War, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Murder, Child death, Death of parent, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Addiction

badbadwolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Slavery, Abandonment, Classism, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Confinement, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and Trafficking

rmperezpadilla's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Death, Sexism, and Slavery

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Police brutality, Self harm, War, and Kidnapping

janfiler99's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Classism, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Death, Religious bigotry, Blood, Grief, Rape, Trafficking, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide, and War

haerin's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

kinda wild how much closer we get to the america octavia butler wrote about in the late 90s. so many aspects of what happens is so relevant to today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Slavery, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, War, and Trafficking

Minor: Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and Car accident

erikwmj's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Racism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction and Blood

Minor: War, Drug abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bisexualwentworth'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? Yes

5.0

Oooooooh I liked this one even more than Parable of the Sower. I loved the non-linear narrative and the multiple contrasting points of view. I loved how Lauren Olamina's daughter's experiences and viewpoints complicated the narrative from Olamina's journals. 

This book is just as dark as the first one. Many horrifying things happen. It is a true dystopian exploration of a possible future from an author who keenly understood the many horrors at play in the United States. Some of it is so on the nose that it was hard to read. Some, especially the technology stuff, felt unlikely at times, but much more grounded than in almost any other near-future dystopian or sci-fi books I've read. Octavia E. Butler was just that good.

Also, this book has multiple central queer characters, which I never see mentioned when people are discussing it. Don't expect happy queer stories--Butler is as realistic about violent homophobia as she is about all other aspects of this world--but it is very present in ways that felt good and right as well as being harrowing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Suicide, War, Blood, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Torture, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Death of parent, Gore, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Vomit, Medical content, and Drug abuse

Minor: Incest

bass_clarinet's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring sad 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

4.0

Beautiful and spiritual. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Genocide, Kidnapping, Death, Police brutality, Violence, Torture, Slavery, and Trafficking

Moderate: Misogyny, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Gun violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Cursing, War, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Classism, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Confinement, Pregnancy, Death, and Sexual violence