Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

17 reviews

risaleel's review

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Confinement, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Grief, and War

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, and Genocide

queenclio's review

mysterious reflective 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

I adored this book! Butler's worldbuilding is phenomenal and thought-provoking. She puts her characters in challenging situations that keep me pondering long after I've put it down

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement

Minor: Rape and Child death

mandi_lea's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Confinement, War, Gaslighting, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

mrising1's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

Devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Rape, Slavery, Grief, Genocide, Confinement, Torture, Violence, and Sexual assault

alexhaydon's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Murder, Xenophobia, Grief, and Confinement

readingsofaslinky's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Murder, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, War, and Xenophobia

britreads's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.5

This was a hard book to read because of the subject matter. I absolutely despised the Oankali and how manipulative they were. The humans were also difficult to root for, though I certainly sympathized with them on some level. They're actions and anxieties felt reasonable given the situation they were in. I also empathized with Lilith. I truly felt bad for her by the end and wished for a better ending, though given Butler's close examination of the real world, it's clear Lilith was never going to have a 'good' ending. 

I wish more time was spent developing the emotional connection between the humans. Once they were introduced, it felt like everyone immediately paired with someone of the opposite gender. (It seemed convenient that all of the humans were straight...though given the Oakali's tendency to deeply interrogate the surviving humans, I wouldn't be surprised if they intentionally selected people who were straight.) Even though Butler focused on a few reoccurring human characters, they seemed to run together. 

This was a HEAVY read. It was one of the heaviest reads so far this year and while I want to read the entire trilogy, I will pace myself and recommend other people who are interested in this series spread out their reading as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Confinement, and Rape

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, War, and Sexual content

Minor: Cancer

crowcollected's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Amazing book. It talks a lot about consent, and blurs the lines between consensual and nonconsensual. The line is not clear-cut, and you have to figure out where some actions fall on your own, not just based on the objective facts of the situation but also the environment the actions are made in. It also talks a lot about choice, and the choices people make even when they've been stripped of all their choice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Confinement

Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, and Violence

haylzno's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

By far my favorite of the trilogy. I loved following Lillith and her moral struggles (not the focus in books 2 & 3) 

I loved the introduction to the Oankali, their world, their customs, and their demands of the surviving humans. 

Truly, Octavia Butler is a genius.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Genocide

frida_epilogo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Cancer, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content, Violence, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, War, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, and Chronic illness