Name: Parable of the Talents
Rating: 4.395161290322581 (62 reviews)
ISBN: 9780446610384

Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Talents celebrates the usual Butlerian themes of alienation and transcendence, violence and spirituality, slavery and freedom, and separation and community, to astonishing effect in the shockingly familiar, broken world of 2032.

A Novel

Parable of the Talents

Phenomenal! Brilliantly fleshed out characters and unparalleled writing!!

Kierce

Originally published in 1998, this shockingly prescient novel's timely message of hope and resistance in the face of fanaticism is more relevant than ever. In 2032, Lauren Olamina has survived the destruction of her home and family, and realized her vision of a peaceful community in northern California based on her newly founded faith, Earthseed. The fledgling community provides refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president who vows to "make America great again." In an increasingly divided and dangerous nation, Lauren's subversive colony--a minority religious faction led by a young black woman--becomes a target for President Jarret's reign of terror and oppression. Years later, Asha Vere reads the journals of a mother she never knew, Lauren Olamina. As she searches for answers about her own past, she also struggles to reconcile with the legacy of a mother caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future.

The story didn’t flow as well or engage me as much as the first book of this series. I’m glad to have seen how  Lauren’s story ended though.

Emma Cragg

My criticisms of the first installment were twofold. Through no fault of its own, the climate-instigated apocalypse theme it pioneered had become something of a saturated trope. Also, the Earthseed-religion felt tacked on. None of both critiques apply to this second book. An undeniable classic.

Frederik De Bosschere

A.L.L.

Bittersweet ending. 

I highly recommend the audio book version with the three different readers narrating. It really brought this book to life for me. 

This book turns away from complete climate apocalypse and veers more towards themes of rebuilding and what comes next.

It didn't hit at close to home as the first one did for me, though there were still some very stark parallels (President Jarrett's "make America great again" slogan, and his extremist followers for example). Maybe because many of the evils we find in this book are already too well familiar. After all the scandals from various religions, all the religious schisms, inquisitions, crusades, etc. from recent and ancient histories, reading about more of the same just didn't punch me in the gut the same way as the societal and environmental breakdown from the first book. 

Like the first book, still so much material, so many ideas to gnaw on. I couldn't put it down. I raced through it so quickly that I am a little sad I didn't take it slower, savor it more.

Dweedle 

Exceptional in every way. This is a heavy read at times. The future she creates felt startlingly close to today at times. The protaganist(?) has a depth of character that is spectacular. I find myself thinking of both the first and second in this unfinished series for many days after I'd finished reading.

Vitor Augusto Dal Molin 

“In order to rise
From its own ashes
A phoenix
First
Must
Burn.”

I cant, this isn't just a scifi book, it's a truly work of art.

Parable of the Talents A Novel

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