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youraveragedave's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? No
4.75
These near future dystopian novels are supposed to be cautionary tales, not blueprints! I swear we're heading into this bizarre future combination of Parable of the Sower/Talents, The Handmaid's Tale, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Brave New World, etc...
After finishing Parable of the Sower I immediately had to jump into it's sequel. This book was quite stressful to read in 2024 with the rise in Christian Nationalism here in the USA. I had to put the book down when the politician wanted to "Make America Great Again" and lookup when this book was written. (Apparently Republicans have been saying this for decades... BC they won't be satisfied till only white men landowners have rights... Oooohhhh scary progress).
This book is study on community, family, theology, and philosophy.
Octavia Butler is working on another level and I need to read more from this remarkable woman!
The sections with the daughter are heartbreaking to read. Markus is just the worst. The Christian Americans come off awfully. The saying there's no hate like Christian love is quite apropos here.
The time jump at the end is jarring and is the only part that didn't quite work for me (more of the technology jump as America heads back to space). Also the pace at which CA declined and we had "back to normal" as a society seems quite optimistic. I've can hope, but I think we'd have to claw power back over a much longer timeframe.
After finishing Parable of the Sower I immediately had to jump into it's sequel. This book was quite stressful to read in 2024 with the rise in Christian Nationalism here in the USA. I had to put the book down when the politician wanted to "Make America Great Again" and lookup when this book was written. (Apparently Republicans have been saying this for decades... BC they won't be satisfied till only white men landowners have rights... Oooohhhh scary progress).
This book is study on community, family, theology, and philosophy.
Octavia Butler is working on another level and I need to read more from this remarkable woman!
The sections with the daughter are heartbreaking to read. Markus is just the worst. The Christian Americans come off awfully. The saying there's no hate like Christian love is quite apropos here.
The time jump at the end is jarring and is the only part that didn't quite work for me (more of the technology jump as America heads back to space). Also the pace at which CA declined and we had "back to normal" as a society seems quite optimistic. I've can hope, but I think we'd have to claw power back over a much longer timeframe.
moongirljesse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.75
cat_m_82's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
jenhurst's review against another edition
5.0
The sequel to Parable of the Sower, its 2032 and America has fallen into a civil war/remnants of society. It starts off with Acorn and the society that Lauren had built involving Earthseed. The society soon falls because of Jarret's crusades and Lauren is once again traveling trying to find her daughter, set up roots and get her message out.
I think this is the most realistic and one of the best post-apocalyptic novels that i have read. America fell from a pandemic (called the Pox in this), climate change, civil unrest and economic collapse. They even reference a crazy president that said "Make American Great". It feels very close to what's happening. The idea of Lauren's daughter being adopted by a Christian American family is virtually the Sixties Scoop that occurred in Canada with Indigenous children. It does mention computerized weapons as a cause too, which was interesting to explore but didn't feel as close to home as the pandemic, climate change and all the other occurrences right now.
The exploration of the far right, religion and how people react during society collapse was really interesting. It mentioned that unmarried woman over 18 were prostitutes and supposed to be sinners. The idea of free universal education was considered a failed experiment as most people were illiterate/semi-literate. It's more of a theological work and the ideas presented get you thinking, even if it falls too close to home with what is going on.
5/5 stars.
I'd recommend this to everyone at this point. I think there's something to it that most people would like.
I think this is the most realistic and one of the best post-apocalyptic novels that i have read. America fell from a pandemic (called the Pox in this), climate change, civil unrest and economic collapse. They even reference a crazy president that said "Make American Great". It feels very close to what's happening. The idea of Lauren's daughter being adopted by a Christian American family is virtually the Sixties Scoop that occurred in Canada with Indigenous children. It does mention computerized weapons as a cause too, which was interesting to explore but didn't feel as close to home as the pandemic, climate change and all the other occurrences right now.
The exploration of the far right, religion and how people react during society collapse was really interesting. It mentioned that unmarried woman over 18 were prostitutes and supposed to be sinners. The idea of free universal education was considered a failed experiment as most people were illiterate/semi-literate. It's more of a theological work and the ideas presented get you thinking, even if it falls too close to home with what is going on.
5/5 stars.
I'd recommend this to everyone at this point. I think there's something to it that most people would like.
luminous's review against another edition
5.0
Shit, y'all got to read this. Written twenty? or so years ago and SPOT ON political precognition. The populist demagogue running for president has a slogan you'd recognize. Once in power (that's not a spoiler), he institutes a child separation program tearing babies from the arms of nursing mothers. The parallels are amazing and chilling.
That's not the story though. The story is big, practically multi-generational, and you know what? I bet Jemisin was really strongly inspired by this series (duology?) I see so many threads, moods, plot devices mirrored between this and the Broken Earth trilogy. And it's great.
That's not the story though. The story is big, practically multi-generational, and you know what? I bet Jemisin was really strongly inspired by this series (duology?) I see so many threads, moods, plot devices mirrored between this and the Broken Earth trilogy. And it's great.
crickedcactus's review against another edition
5.0
Butler could see the future and noone can convince me otherwise
steffsteff's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
4.5
mangobanango's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
4.5
captainfivebyfive's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-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