Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

143 reviews

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Grief, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery

Moderate: Death of parent, Excrement, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Vomit, Rape, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Gore, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Domestic abuse, Grief, Excrement, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death of parent, Incest, Cannibalism, Death, Medical content, Mental illness, Drug use, Murder, Pregnancy, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Trafficking, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

clarissa22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Child death, Gun violence, Addiction, Vomit, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Rape, Animal death, and War

Moderate: Torture, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Racism, Slavery, and Trafficking

Minor: Sexual content and Sexism

brookwilson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I felt this was the book I hoped to pick up every time I read a dystopian novel as a kid. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Suicide, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

redheadorganist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Addiction, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, and Slavery

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, Torture, Racism, Sexual content, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

lulu_canread's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

4.5

The Parable of the Sower is a dystopian sci-fi set in 2025 and follows the life of Lauren, beginning with her life as a young girl. She lives in a gated community, not out of wealth, but out of necessity. This book was originally written in the 90s, and imagines the 2020s as a hellish landscape of climate crises, lawlessness, and deprivation (sometimes this feels not too far off!).
The book follows Lauren's childhood and her growing understanding of the world she lives in while the adults around her grapple with what used to be. Her father, the baptist preacher/spiritual leader of her neighbourhood instills in her a religion, but Lauren struggles to reconcile it with the harsh world around her. Her first act of defiance and of independence is to stray, first just in thought, from her father's view of god to her own - god is change, unavoidable and irresistable - thus begins her religion of Earthseed. This spiritual journey follows Lauren as she grows and her world changes.
At times this story reads like a parable or biblical text, other times the accuracy of Octavia Butler writing reads like a dire warning. This book is harsh and brutal, it doesn't shy away from the horror a dysfunctional world like this one would be. Yet Parable of the Sower is ultimately a book about survival, of endurance, and of hope. I am not a sci-fi or even much of a dystopian reader but I was totally captured by this amazing novel and unable to put it down.
Two warnings before you dive in:
Firstly, take the content warnings seriously for this book. I don't want to turn people away or off this masterpiece but massive content warnings, like all the content warnings. As I stated - this book is harsh and cruel at times.
Second, Octavia Butler was unable to finish the Earthseed series before she died. While there is a second novel published, Parable of the Sower concludes (without spoiling it for you) in way that you can stop reading and be satisfied with pausing the narrative there. I haven't read the second book and cannot vouch on whether or not you would find a similarly good pause for the series at that point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Rape, Child death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Cannibalism, Suicide, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Trafficking

Please, please, please take the content warnings seriously for this book. It is a fantastic read, but it is rough going as Octavia Butler does not hold back in the trauma department of her dystopian world. Make sure you read all content warnings on multiple reviews as I am sure I have forgotten some.

courtsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racism, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Drug use

avalazarov'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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Grief, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Gun violence

adamjeffson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Animal death, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child death, Slavery, Sexism, Rape, Cannibalism, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Trafficking, Police brutality, Gun violence, Drug abuse, and Excrement

Minor: Addiction and Death of parent

jaymem's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Child death, Violence, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Trafficking, Slavery, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Grief, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Cannibalism, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, and Police brutality

elly29'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? Yes

3.75

I'm glad I read this, but it was a stressful read that didn't have the payout I was looking for (ie, space colonization). Written in the 1990s and set in the 2020s (eep, the novel starts in 2024), it was a look at a potential and dire future of massive distrust, climate change, poverty, comapny-endorsed slavery, violence, and just short of societal collapse.

There were a few gems: the Earthseed religion and how God is Change. The slow growth into a spirit of community, and how the way to succeed is by working together.

But, at times a hard, hard read. Mostly about survival among the dregs of a dead civilization. And it was hard because this could be a potential future for us.

Lots of content warnings: rape, murder, pyromania, cannibalism, dismemberment, starvation, child death...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Child death, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Trafficking