Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

65 reviews

camerondeja's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

3.75

Honestly I wish there was a sequel. I want to read more about the Ina and Shori

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

peachani's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

1. This is about vampires, but
   they work much like the aliens in Butler's other books.
2. Again, I struggle with understanding why Butler includes taboo sex acts. I don't think it's for shock value. 
3. The
   trial and detective work
   were the most interesting parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder

the_true_monroe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

3.5

I found this to be interesting and an engaging, intriguing story. I am glad I made my way through it.

But I do need to say that having the protagonist being called a “child” the entire time and looking like she was 10 years old is unsettling, even knowing she is an over half century old vampire. Vampire adults completely acknowledged their attraction to her and only being able to not act yet since she is still a child!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide and Misogyny

Minor: Ableism, Biphobia, and Slavery

dclaw's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Pedophilia, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

kemrick19's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

roseandivy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.5

this was kind of just... solidly mediocre? i want to try something else of octavia butler's, but i found the back half of this kind of boring and confusing (i couldn't keep the names of all the council ina and symbionts straight), and the fact that shori looked like a child was really off-putting-- which i suppose was the point, but it made it hard for me to focus on anything else in the book. i thought the take on vampires was interesting, but that couldn't make up for the fact that i found wright irritating and the plot dragged on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Incest, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, and Pregnancy

gavig's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia

wanderingprion's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

leadabird's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Pedophilia

Shori, the main character of Fledgling, is a 53-year-old Ina (vampire) whose appearance resembles an 11-year-old human.

She has romantic and sexual relationships with several adult humans other Ina. Although she is really 53 years old, she is still a child by Ina standards. The novel includes descriptions of her childlike body in sexual situations and of how humans might perceive her relationships with her partners (as child/adult relationships). As in her other work, Butler pushes the boundaries of socially acceptable romantic/sexual relationships. She writes Shori as a consenting adult despite the assurances of the other Ina that she is a child.

This content is, at best, thought-provoking and uncomfortable to read and at worst, triggering and representative of dangerous human behavior.

franklola's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Gun violence and Murder