Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

218 reviews

katrinarose's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful reflective sad 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? No

4.0

While a little slow to start, this book absolutely gripped me. It’s definitely the best bleak post-apocalyptic survival book I’ve read (although in this story there’s no distinct apocalyptic event, it’s just the degradation of society). It reminds me a bit of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, and I think it’s impossible Parable of the Sower didn’t inspire it, but this came first and was done better. 

I really liked Lauren as a character and the development of her religion. She is a very stoic character for all the trauma she experiences but yet I don’t find it that unbelievable - between her religious beliefs and the fact that the whole story is her journal she wrote (she could be writing in a more serious tone than if we got a first person POV narration) - I think it makes sense. I admire her a lot. The other characters aren’t quite as well-developed as her but I liked how every character had something unique to add. 

I do wish there was more explanation for how the world devolved to this point (yet they still had to pay property taxes while arson and murder were everyday occurrences?) but it didn’t take away much from the story. Overall this was depressing and full of triggering topics but very hopeful at the same time, and I would recommend it for anyone interested in a semi-realistic dystopian.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Child death, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual content, Cannibalism, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

c_kuehner's review against another edition

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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Cannibalism, and Drug use

Minor: Drug abuse and Child abuse

doramag's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Child death, Cannibalism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

djeanine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Animal death, Body horror, Abandonment, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Violence, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture

bloodiedorange's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

1.5

The book started off entertaining and easy to read. I enjoyed the plot, and savored bits of the political climate.

However, as this novel trudged on, the main character became increasingly annoying, entitled, and controlling. She believed her 'Earthseed' to be absolute truth, and continued to share it with anyone she could. I didn't like this at all. Then, toward the end, she, a newly eighteen-year-old girl embarks on a romantic and sexual relationship with a fifty-seven-year-old man; a man older than her father. No, this is not talked about much. Characters make some comments on the age gap, but I suppose in apocalypse, 'mature' children and old men make the best of pairs. 

Also, it isn't even science fiction. Drugs and mental illness don't count.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Drug use, Death of parent, Gore, and Adult/minor relationship

arayo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Grief, Cannibalism, Child death, Animal death, and Blood

twu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual harassment, Child death, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Rape, Vomit, Grief, Violence, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Slavery, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Addiction, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

miss_fish's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Abandonment, Racism, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Murder, Blood, Sexual violence, Drug use, Death of parent, Child abuse, Rape, Grief, Violence, Death, Torture, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, and Child death

niebezpiecznygroszek's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Drug use, Grief, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Death of parent, and Rape

ohgull's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I absolutely loved the first half of this book. It was so dense with details, metaphors, and so much good literature. But the second half fell really flat for me. I didn’t like the romance, there were too many new characters in the last 50 pages and there wasn’t really a climax to the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Animal death, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Rape, and Police brutality