Reviews tagging 'Torture'

La Parabole du semeur by Octavia E. Butler

150 reviews

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

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, 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, Torture, and Violence

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture

Minor: Trafficking

lilybear3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

I listened to this as an unabridged audiobook read by  Lynne Thigpen.  They have a lovely voice that is graceful, yet captures the heaviness. This is one of the best dystopian novels I have read.  Her messages on social injustices and climate change are true and prophetic.  I was highly engaged for the majority of the book, but I lost a little interest towards the end when

more and more people joined the group on the journey. It was about when Emery and Mora showed up

.  There were a lot of scenes and imagery that felt like it was added for shock value, but I think that is the reality of the world they live in.  I was not a fan of the age-gap relationship, but I interpreted it as commentary on how children mature way too fast when in an environment that forces them to grow up.  Characterization was fantastic.  There were great descriptions while also characterizing through the characters' actions.  Watching Lauren grow into her own and write about her spiritual and philosophical beliefs was so interesting.  I thought the ending was fitting, it wasn't amazing, but acceptable.  I'm glad I read this classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Minor: Cannibalism

kurumipanda'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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture

mischorda's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism