Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

20 reviews

erikwmj's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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: Child death, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Racism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Addiction and Blood

Minor: War, Drug abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bisexualwentworth's review against another edition

• 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

5.0

Oooooooh I liked this one even more than Parable of the Sower. I loved the non-linear narrative and the multiple contrasting points of view. I loved how Lauren Olamina's daughter's experiences and viewpoints complicated the narrative from Olamina's journals. 

This book is just as dark as the first one. Many horrifying things happen. It is a true dystopian exploration of a possible future from an author who keenly understood the many horrors at play in the United States. Some of it is so on the nose that it was hard to read. Some, especially the technology stuff, felt unlikely at times, but much more grounded than in almost any other near-future dystopian or sci-fi books I've read. Octavia E. Butler was just that good.

Also, this book has multiple central queer characters, which I never see mentioned when people are discussing it. Don't expect happy queer stories--Butler is as realistic about violent homophobia as she is about all other aspects of this world--but it is very present in ways that felt good and right as well as being harrowing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Suicide, War, Blood, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Torture, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Death of parent, Gore, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Vomit, Medical content, and Drug abuse

Minor: Incest

reads2cope's review against another edition

5.0

It was still so jarring to read about the “2020s,” especially in reference to the plague and forest fires. Even more prescient political commentary, giving the increased book banning and attacks on libraries these days: “It seems inevitable that people who can’t read are going to lean more toward judging candidates on the way they look and sound than on what they claim they stand for. Even people who can read and are educated are apt to pay more attention to good looks and seductive lies than they should. And no doubt the new picture ballots on the nets will give Jarret an even greater advantage.”

I still hated the Earthseed "religion," despite loving the mutual aid work at its core. Especially in the epilogue, seeing that multiple spaceships actually took off felt ridiculous. Earthseed could have had a stronger environmental and community message - all the farming and land care they did at Acorn and all the environmental destruction that tipped the dystopia into what it was seems washed away with the sudden emissions of these new space homes that were only previously mentioned in lieu of a Heaven and never actually seen in the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Gaslighting, Trafficking, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Torture, Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Police brutality

victoria29's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

It’s a great story but a tough read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Torture, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Racism, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Child abuse, Rape, Death, Classism, Violence, Slavery, Addiction, and Drug abuse

eve81's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Death, Medical content, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Racism, Rape, Torture, Infertility, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, War, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Classism, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

madelinekramer2021's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Confinement, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, and War

rosemarykiessling's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Kidnapping, Rape, War, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Racism, Pedophilia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Mass/school shootings, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death

derik_rochlitzer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Classism, Death, Addiction, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Abandonment, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny, Rape, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, and War

risaleel's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War

atalea's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Parable of the Talents is a strong sequel to a great book. However, the series didn't fully work for me because of Lauren and her Earthseed preachings. Lauren can be a very strong and intelligent character who I admire at one point, but then the story drifts back to focus on her Earthseed mission and I am just not that interested in it. What I really like about this book however, is that a lot of the side characters voice my opinions on Lauren's character and her tunnel vision and she in turn makes valid criticisms of others. The characters therefore felt very real to me. I just didn't feel connected to the main character and her mission unfortunately, which weakened my reading experience.

As an apocalyptic book, it is one of the strongest I have ever read. Events and motivations felt real and possible, which made the book even more scary. The main portion of the book felt like a true apocalyptic survival story á la The Walking Dead and I could totally see this as a movie.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Rape

Moderate: Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Deportation, Sexism, Death, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Blood, Sexual violence, Murder, Child abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide