I don't think I can properly explain just how amazing and mind-shattering this book was to me. This is beyond a doubt a contender for my favorite book of all time, right up there with Butler's other work, Parable of the Sower. I was so beyond hooked on the series when I read the first book, which is absolutely a five-star read, but this book is somehow even better, in my opinion. Characters like Doro are so intrinsically captivating. How does one go about relating to or even enjoying an immortal performing multi-century cross-generational eugenics in order to create his own race of psionically empowered followers? What then happens when he achieves his goal and creates what is essentially his equal? I loved the envy and disdain Doro has for his own creation, who was able to do what he could not ever do and had spent centuries trying. I think the slow descent into the final few chapters of this book was fascinating and felt like a truly world altering ending. I loved the world-building in regards to how the mental abilities of Doro's lineage, it truly felt like he was creating an army of elite humans, but couldn't quite figure out how to make them thrive. I think that the struggle between Doro, because of that reason, and Mary, his creation, was so raw and visceral, and it encapsulated the feeling of an experiment outgrowing its creator. I can't possibly put into words how amazing this book was to me, but I'm so pleased that Butler's work continues to impact me so profoundly.