Reviews tagging 'War'

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

69 reviews

ambarleti's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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: Violence, Slavery, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Incest, Sexual violence, and War

Minor: Addiction and Xenophobia

leonieschw's review

emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, War, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Racism, Grief, Slavery, Colonisation, Violence, Kidnapping, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Rape, and Miscarriage

machen27's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

There are so many ideas in this book and it's prequel, Parable of the Sower. Both are difficult reads because they  unflinchingly depcit the terrible things humans can do to each other, yet they also ask about how we make the world better than it was in spite of all of this. This book also deals more with parenthood, though to say more would be to spoil it. More than anything though, the book feels important, especially now in 2022.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Sexual assault, War, Xenophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide

Sometimes one must talk about terrible things. The harrowing world Butler creates is worth engaging with, is meant to evoke discomfort. Do not avoid it because it may make you uncomfortable.

ruthlessreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

This is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. It was scary how accurate Butler’s interpretation of the future is and makes me worry for what comes next in this country. It’s intense & I highly recommend looking for trigger warnings before reading because some of the events that take place are extremely traumatic. If you want a sci-fi that will make you think deeply about the state of the world, you should read this book. But start with Parable of the Sower!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Violence, Slavery, Murder, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, and Child abuse

Moderate: War, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

greymalkin's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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? Yes

2.5

I didn't find this book quite as upsetting as the first one but it also wasn't as compelling.  There was no propulsion to the narrative and the main characters mostly just wandered around, at mercy to authorial whim.  Finding that Lauren is just as dangerously self-righteous and blind as I'd suspected in Parable of the Sower wasn't really an enjoyable experience.  I had hoped she would learn more I had hoped for more "there" there but I didn't find it. 

Asha Vere's voice got tiresome after the third repeat, it would have been more impactful to have her sections at the start and end of the book, with Marcus' lone PoV moment in the middle.  Lauren's hypocrisy and (literally) deadly emotional manipulations of others got very difficult to take after a while, especially when other characters pointed out the flaws with her reasoning and projects, and yet because she had to be "right" they were simply pushed aside.  She got people killed, enslaved, and tortured and chalked it up to "a mistake".

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Sexual violence and War

haileybones's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Murder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Vomit

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, War, and Xenophobia

chilicrispy's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, War, Xenophobia, Vomit, Slavery, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Kidnapping

larbster90's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Slavery

Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Violence

Minor: Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, and War

persilou's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

At first I was not a fan of the format of multiple authors, but I appreciated it by the end. I would recommend this novel after the first, but to not expect the same experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Child abuse

Moderate: Child death, Rape, and Homophobia

Minor: War