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starinthestorm's review against another edition
Nope. Nope. Nope. I do not care that she's actually in her 50s...she has a body of a ten-eleven year old. There's no reason that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship
blkbookbae's review against another edition
no longer reading about the sexualization of young black girls. this book was making me so uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
maurareads13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
2.5
⭐️2.5⭐️ I went into this book not having any idea what to expect. I’ve never read an Octavia Butler work, so this was new territory. I’m also not a vampire aficionado, having only read Twilight & ADOW, so I decided to take a step outside of my comfort zone.
What I liked- Ms Butler’s writing style. It did keep me hooked the entire time. )My lower rating was definitely not for lack of interest, but I’ll get to that later.). Her world building for the vampiric culture & society was intricate but I could understand it. It was a totally different take on vampires, or Ina, as they call themselves. Even with quite a few characters, the story was easy to follow & it was intriguing. I was also thankful it wasn’t as “horror” as I anticipated.
What I didn’t like- there was too much pedo-type things throughout. The MC, Shori, is a young 53-year-old Ina, but looks like an 11-year-old girl. She seduces a 23-year-old human to “feed” her and then have sex with her. I thought that once her true age was revealed & discussed, the pedo feel to the narrative would leave as the story progressed, but no. It was referenced & used to describe her often, from her flat-chested appearance to her height being that of a 10/11 year old. Also- everything with her feeding off of humans was sexualized, and coupled with the childlike references, I just didn’t like it.
I will for sure try another one of Octavia Butler’s books, as not all of them are this storyline.
What I liked- Ms Butler’s writing style. It did keep me hooked the entire time. )My lower rating was definitely not for lack of interest, but I’ll get to that later.). Her world building for the vampiric culture & society was intricate but I could understand it. It was a totally different take on vampires, or Ina, as they call themselves. Even with quite a few characters, the story was easy to follow & it was intriguing. I was also thankful it wasn’t as “horror” as I anticipated.
What I didn’t like- there was too much pedo-type things throughout. The MC, Shori, is a young 53-year-old Ina, but looks like an 11-year-old girl. She seduces a 23-year-old human to “feed” her and then have sex with her. I thought that once her true age was revealed & discussed, the pedo feel to the narrative would leave as the story progressed, but no. It was referenced & used to describe her often, from her flat-chested appearance to her height being that of a 10/11 year old. Also- everything with her feeding off of humans was sexualized, and coupled with the childlike references, I just didn’t like it.
I will for sure try another one of Octavia Butler’s books, as not all of them are this storyline.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs, Pedophilia, and Racism
gingerale06's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, and Pedophilia
plainpaige's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Ooof. I would have liked this book more if not for the shadow cast over it by the explicit pedophilia of it all. Of course, some will say it's not actually pedophilia, the "child" protagonist was in her 50s! But let's just say, this book will never be made into a movie. Even disregarding the explicit relationships between this person who appears to be ~10 years old, I had trouble finding myself interested in the story or the characters. A third of this book was judicial bureaucratic boredom, and perhaps Butler could have expanded it into a more interesting series, but I personally wouldn't have read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Classism, Mental illness, Death of parent, Ableism, Gun violence, Addiction, Racism, Violence, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Alcohol, and Incest
sarash92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia
alexandragriffin's review against another edition
I couldn’t do the pedophilia anymore. An vampire/ina who appears to be 11 years old but is 50-something by human standards, but IS STILL A CHILD BY VAMPIRE/INA STANDARDS does not make it any less ick for me.
There also doesn’t seem to be any deeper meaning or symbolism behind the sexual content, and I just can’t listen to another description of a grown man having sex with a child vampire while she feeds.
There also doesn’t seem to be any deeper meaning or symbolism behind the sexual content, and I just can’t listen to another description of a grown man having sex with a child vampire while she feeds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Pedophilia
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
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
4.0
This is my second time reading this (it took me 2 days to finish) and my previous comments/review basically sum up how I feel about this book. I wanted to add that I always love how diverse Butler's characters are. Last time I rated this 3.5 stars but this time I'm bumping it up and rating it 4 stars. It's not my favorite Butler book but it was still good and well written. I really appreciate the commentary on racism and disability.
I still have an issue with the main character having sexual relationships with adults when she looks to be only 10 or 11 years old, but this time around I tried to ignore that it was happening. This would have gotten 5 stars from me if the main character had looked like she was at least in her 20s.
(Sept 14th, 2023)
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It took me so long to finish this because I was triggered that the main protagonist, who looks 10 years old but is a 53 year old vampire, keeps having sex with various human adults. I finished this for book club and because I loved Octavia E. Butler but I couldn't get into it because of all the sexual content involving someone who looks 10 yrs old. This is my least liked and lowest rated Octavia E. Butler book.
I like the lore on vampires and the vampiric world building, and I liked the commentary on racism and disability. I just had a hard time with the triggering content. I don't understand why Shori wasn't just made to look like an adult.
3.5 out of 5 Stars rounded up because of the cool concepts and commentary on racism and disability.
I still have an issue with the main character having sexual relationships with adults when she looks to be only 10 or 11 years old, but this time around I tried to ignore that it was happening. This would have gotten 5 stars from me if the main character had looked like she was at least in her 20s.
(Sept 14th, 2023)
---
It took me so long to finish this because I was triggered that the main protagonist, who looks 10 years old but is a 53 year old vampire, keeps having sex with various human adults. I finished this for book club and because I loved Octavia E. Butler but I couldn't get into it because of all the sexual content involving someone who looks 10 yrs old. This is my least liked and lowest rated Octavia E. Butler book.
I like the lore on vampires and the vampiric world building, and I liked the commentary on racism and disability. I just had a hard time with the triggering content. I don't understand why Shori wasn't just made to look like an adult.
3.5 out of 5 Stars rounded up because of the cool concepts and commentary on racism and disability.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
excellent_taste's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.75
Really interesting, also disturbing. I do not know how I feel about it but it was well written.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Murder, Grief, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexism, and Pedophilia
kinddog2073's review against another edition
Should have checked the content warnings. Seriously, why the fuck.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship