Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler

26 reviews

hannahgarstang's review against another edition

Learning about Earthseed through the characters dialogue was quite comforting, despite the dystopian world this is set in. The dialouge felt like transcriptions of real conversations. 

The graphic art was chef's kiss and the story had a good pace. 

Lauren is the most observant, insightful and wise protagonists I've ever read. She is so practical and knows how to read a room. 
The age gap relationship was uncomfortable though when you remember she's only 18 years old at that point. 

This dystopian forewarning felt relevant and reflective of issues we face today. Climate change,  unregulated exploitative industry, systemic racism drivrn by the state and the patriarchy are real risks for people's wellbeing currently. I couldn't help but reflect on the examples of modern day slavery. The reflection of police brutality or the harrowing statistics of child abuse, drug abuse and sexual assault. And then on top of all of that, the fact that climate change disproportionately negatively impacts those of lower socioeconomic communities, often BIPOC communities. The emphasis on struggling to access fresh potable water sources felt especially relevant as climate change has a general rule of the dry get drier and the wet get wetter. Meaning drought prone areas are genearlly going to be especially vulnerable as the climate continues to warm. I've heard predictions that instead of fighting wars over oil we will start fighting wars over water one day. The colour selection of red and orange felt very appropriate given this context. 

The message was pretty clear to me. Work together with your communities to prepare for change because change is inevitable. Prepare for climate change with both mitigation and adaptation. Prepare for natural disasters like earthquakes(my community lives on a fault line), floods (the tragedy that was the flooding up north in Hawkes Bay last year), unprecedented forest fires (I won't be forgetting the horror that was the 2020 forest fires in Australia), and more. And address the very clear inequalities that currently exist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Child death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Classism, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Racism, Incest, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Grief

librarymouse's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

3.75

There were some parts of this book I really liked and others I really didn't. The 39 year age gap between Lauren and her love interest who she first recognizes through associating him with her father is one of the major dislikes. I like both characters, but the situation is uncomfortable, especially when he is made out as a sympathetic, likable character. I'd had this book and the novel it was adapted from on my to read list for a while, and I'm glad I got around to reading this for school. It's really neat to see the roots of the literary solarpunk movement as it's rooted in afro futurism and the questioning of the continuing hegemony of colonial structures that are still being offered as solutions to the climate crisis today. It is weird to be reading this in 2024, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Classism, Incest, Slavery, Sexual content, Colonisation, Vomit, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Rape, Murder, Racism, Violence, Grief, Misogyny, Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Animal death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Dysphoria

hendrixpants's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child death, Gun violence, Violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Slavery and Animal death

wrentfree's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

I feel like this is what the world is going to look like in a few years. Read only if you want to get depressed as heck.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, and Animal death

lordbags's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

Moderate: Torture, Rape, Sexual violence, and Body horror

therewillbenewsuns's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: War, Cannibalism, Violence, Death of parent, Cursing, Rape, and Gun violence

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

jackieines's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Rape, and Gun violence

jujunutberry's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Gun violence, Vomit, Child death, and Animal death

trippalli's review against another edition

challenging 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

2.5

Very dark and violent, a graphic novel adaptation of a Octavia Butler classic. It's heavy in philosophy of God and belief systems and religion in an internally violent submission post apocalyptic living hell on earth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Self harm, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Dysphoria, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, War, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

robinks's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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? No

4.5

I haven’t read Parable of the Sower, but I enjoyed this graphic novel adaptation. While keeping track of the characters was difficult at first, they were given page presence in a way that got easier to discern as I read more. Also, the accuracy of this “dystopian” story to reality is eerie. Personally, I’m always turned off by particularly religious narratives or talk about God, but from a philosophical perspective, the ideas Lauren presents are very compelling. Visually, I’m not a fan of how Lauren’s verses were presented among the illustrations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Classism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Rape, Incest, Police brutality, and Trafficking