Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

89 reviews

conspiracycrows's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Reading this, in 2023 as a 25 year old is eerie. Especially when the main character was born the same year as your younger sibling. This book will set you on edge, make you think, and remind you in so many ways that people are people.
Evil, angry, barbaric
And
Kind, good, thoughtful 
You will find the phrase "god is change" drifting through your thiughts no matter your religion, because no matter your religion something about it rings true. 
The one true constant in this world is change. 
And in accepting that we can begin to use that change. 
I hope, pray, and work to make sure a future like the one in this book never comes to pass. That as much as this world changes, I can at least guide my small portion of it to something softer. 
If enough of us do that, perhaps we can make a world that is kinder, that is softer. 
A world where someone with hyper empathy, whether the extreme syndrome detailed here, or the real life symptom of some neurodivergent people like myself, do not have to be afraid of seeing the world around us. 

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shontellereads's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

4.5

My first Octavia E. Butler! This was a slow start but did pick up around halfway through. What i liked: the bleak setting and the character work. What I didn't like: the religious element (just not really my cuppa tea), the sharing, and causuality around domestic violence (although this is hard to say if the book has a casual attitude about it or the MC does, either way imo a father who beats his kids is a shite man).

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gmortg3's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense 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

4.25


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sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-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

💬: "God is neither good nor evil, neither loving nor hating. God is Power. God is Change. We must find the rest of what we need within ourselves, in one another, in our Destiny."

Butler, Octavia E.. Parable of the Sower (p. 245). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: sci-fi, speculative fiction, dystopia, post apocalyptic, classics 

📚Page Count: 330

🎧Audiobook Length: 12h 01min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 
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The very beginning of the book is very preachy, well a lot of this book is preachy because it's literally the story of a young woman creating her own religion. I'd say the story was overall enjoyable despite the preachiness of it all. I really enjoyed the way this was written and how, it started out hopeless, like a lot of Butler's works. Then, there's a little light at the end of the tunnel and the story suddenly becomes hopeful.

This is my second time reading Parable of the Sower and I finally understand that it's about community and keeping one another safe. Protecting one another in crisis. That is the answer to the question, "what do we do when disaster strikes?"

I also love the diversity in this book. The characters were very diverse like all other Butler books.

The beginning of the book was a bit slow even though the book was interesting overall. Therefore, I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5.

 

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courtsbooks's review against another edition

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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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elia_elizabeth_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75


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andybeagle333's review against another edition

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I really enjoy Butlers writing and I was intrigued by the plot and the characters but it simply was too dark and gruesome for me. If you have a sensitive stomach for graphic descriptions of violence this probably is not for you

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jaymem's review against another edition

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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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dark_marble_eyes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75


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mischorda's review against another edition

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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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