A review by catalyst226
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

adventurous dark emotional 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

Fifteen pages in, I had to remind myself this book was published in 1998 because it's echoing things happening today. A little over halfway, I found myself slightly disturbed that when I switched to reading some news articles, there was a lot of similarities. Butler truly was ahead of her time with these novels. Reading the interview after the epilogue, she seemed to model the events on sentiments about public education back in the 90s so it all tracks.

If you're a fan of things like The Handmaid's Tale or incredibly well-written speculative/dystopian fiction, pick up this and it's prequel immediately.
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