Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

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Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

                Olamina has been living on Acorn for two years now with her husband and the many people who journeyed with her. Their small community has grown and they have embraced her teachings of Earthseed. They are making a life for themselves in their secluded home. But trouble it brewing outside of their community, in the shape of a presidential candidate who wants to return America back to its previous glory, when Christianity was the only practiced religion. Some of his people known as Crusaders have been making the rounds in the area near Acorn and while Olamina is doing what she can to protect her community and Earthseed, the future is extremely unclear.
                This second novel in Butler’s Earthseed series is a story told through the eyes of Olamina’s daughter, Larkin, who we soon learn was taken from her mother and given to a married couple to be raised away from Olamina’s heathen ways. We learn what has happened to Acorn through Olamina’s journal entries and Larkin’s narrative. This novel has the exact same strengths as the first novel: great world building, well developed characters and a detailed realistic and terrifying dystopia. I’m not sure how much I enjoyed Larkin’s character or her narrative but she stood in the place of a hard truth and the circumstances of a divided family. I think through her character you get a true look at how much destruction has been done to families. I enjoyed this book almost as much and I enjoyed the first in the series. Butler’s writing can carry any story and this one is no exception. I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. 

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