Seemed to be more about making a point than telling a good story. It didn't leave me feeling like I wanted to read more by this author, however much I agree with her intentions. ( )

In the quality of the writing, Parable of the Talents was a notch below Butler’s Parable of the Sower but just as equally full of good thought provoking ideas. I understand why Butler tore down what Lauren Olamina built in the first book, but I think story-wise it didn’t work as well because the building up of the next stage seemed so rushed at the end. But it’s only lesser in comparison to the previous book. Lauren Olamina’s story is very good and gives you a lot to chew on.

(Full review at my blog) ( )

A reread of Parable of the Sower reveals a dark vision of the near future that is eerily reminiscent of the pictures we all saw on TV following Hurricane Katrina, a frighteningly realistic portrayal of poverty and anarchy that is all too easy to imagine following on the heels of global warming’s devastation. The follow-up, Parable of the Talents, is even more grim and harrowing than its predecessor in its depiction of an America plunged into chaos. Butler deftly picks up the threads of the major issues facing us today — climate change, the widening gap between rich and poor, the privatization of education and social services — and follows them to the inevitably disastrous results if these problems aren’t addressed. Most frightening of all is the depiction of an America in the grips of Christian extremists who murder and enslave people and separate children from their parents, just because they do not hold the same beliefs.

But Butler’s story is one of hope too: of a prophet leading her people toward a better future, following a spiritual practice that makes more sense to me than most organized religions I know of, and of a goal — to sow the seeds of humanity throughout space — that I have always believed held the key to our survival as a species. God is change, indeed, but instead of fighting it or surrendering to it, just recognize it and use it to make your goals a reality. This message is contained within a work of fiction that paint a frightening picture of the future, but it rings very true to me. ( )

This is the first book of Octavia E. Butler I have read.
It’s a story that flows well and one is always wandering if it is set in the future or in the present. A thin line divides humans from animals, a line that is often crossed. Civilization is a precious thing but can vanish very easily.
The most interesting thing, for me, in this book was the evolution of a religion.
In the beginning, the thoughts of this new religion are shown to others by example and as it grows, proselytism begins and later a burocracy is born, generally defending is own interests This happens in religions, cults, political parties and even in science. With growth, rough members appear and violently apply their own version.
Do we have to abandon all hope in humanity, leave for a desert island or a lone star and begin from scratch?
These are some of the themes one can find in this interesting book that will stay with us for a long time. ( )

We've kown for a long time that there's more to Kareem than skyhooks. In On the Shoulders of Giants, he shares his passion for history. He describes the Harlem Renaissance from several points of view: the social history that led up to it, the significant thinkers who contributed to it, the black basketball teams that originated there, and finally the jazz music that flourished in Harlem. He ties up each section with a couple of pages about how that facet affected his life. Not superficial but not terribly deep either, the book gives overviews of key topics and fascinating descriptions of key individuals, and it can serve as a guide for further investigation for the reader who is so inclined. I enjoyed it quite a bit. ( )

Parable of the Talents is the sequel to Parable of the Sower, and begins with the growth of Acorn, the Earthseed community which Lauren has established. The story is told half by excerpts from Lauren's journal that she kept over the next few years, and expanded upon by her daughter Larkin later. This book is more political than Parable of the Sower; much of the future is defined by Christian America, the majority political party of the US, who have denounced Earthseed as a dangerous cult. Even so, Lauren gathers new members and spreads the ideology of Earthseed, against all opposition in the brutal society which America has become.

Parable of the Talents was an interesting read, and Lauren is one of the strongest female characters I've ever encountered, but Octavia Butler writes dystopian literature so well, and so grim, that it kind of weighed me down to read it. Still, a fascinating and unique story ( )

Butler writes of a not-too-distant future in which climate change and economic crises have overturned society. The U.S. is in especially bad shape. Law and order are essentially non-existent; and most people are struggling on their own to survive poverty and violence. Slavery is back and nearly all rights, especially those of women, are gone. Extreme fundamentalist Christians are gaining power, leaving them free to burn "witches" and herd all "heathens" into concentration camps.

In the midst of this chaos, Lauren Olamina sees humanity's best hope in a new belief system she calls Earthseed. She teaches that God is change, and humanity can only save itself by working towards its Destiny--to colonize other planets.

The story is told partly through the writings of Olamina's daughter, but mostly through journal entries written by Olamina and those connected to her. It's a narrative style I frequently enjoy and it's used to great effect here. The characters become very real through the various first person accounts.

This was often a harrowing book to read, but well worth it. It was the first Butler novel I've read; and I'm definitely going to read more. ( )

Innovative: this book tackles spirituality, feminism, race, and class issues and captures the complexity of all four. Superb in execution. Why give it a 2.5? Mostly, it's a personal thing: I just didn't enjoy reading it. Substantive critique: not every evil man is a *rapist*, and the bad guys in this book all seemed to be. That got pretty tiresome and 2-dimensional. When the Christian American splinter folks took over Acorn, you knew they were gonna be rapists... of course!! ( )

A masterful example of craftsmanship, this epistolary style narrative manages to range from dystopia to future without ever losing the complicated, contradictory human nature of it's characters.

This was an emotionally difficult book to read, the way that the news is difficult. ( )

This could possibly be my favorite Butler novel (and at this point I've read them all except for two). It's a sequel to -"The Parable of the Sower" which gets you intimately connected with the characters. Then in this one you get to see them continue to suffer and struggle and survive (or not in some cases). By the end of the story I ended up screaming (out loud) at the characters that I hated and congratulating (also out loud) the ones that I liked when they succeeded at somethng.

The plot was interesting but after reading her other works I'm starting to see a formula. These things are in almost all Butler's books.

1) Strong, Black, Female main character (makes sense and there definitely aren't enough of them but I would have liked to see her branch out occasionally).

2) Moving a race to the stars or evolving a race to create a kind of racial immortality. It's almost as if all the books are linked in someway.

3) Intense suffering in a harsh environment. As the song says, "Nobody does it better." Although Russell's "The Sparrow" is probably at least as full of emotional suffering.

The only other problem I had with this book is the "sharer" thing. I could have been completely removed and it wouldn't have effected the book in the least. I was sure it would end up being the key to some major plot element but it wasn't. ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/RQ2TT06I... ( )