From Powells.com
Staff recommendations, guest essays, and curated reading lists.
Staff Pick
One of the most intense, thought-provoking books I've ever read. A miraculous young woman survives — and transforms — a post-apocalyptic United States. Powerful and prescient. Recommended By Rosalie F., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
When unattended environmental and economic crises lead to social chaos, not even gated communities are safe. In a night of fire and death Lauren Olamina, a minister's young daughter, loses her family and home and ventures out into the unprotected American landscape. But what begins as a flight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny...and the birth of a new faith.
Review
"Impassioned...stands out as a testament to the author's enormous talent." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"Enthralling...compelling and truly original." Denver Post
Review
"Octavia E. Butler is one of the finest voices in fiction period....A master storyteller, Butler casts an unflinching eye on racism, sexism, poverty, and ignorance and lets the reader see the terror and beauty of human nature." Washington Post Book World
Review
"A new Octavia Butler novel is an exciting event....She is one of those rare authors who pay serious attention to the way human beings actually work together and against each other, and she does so with extraordinary plausibility." Locus
Review
"Butler's books are exceptional....She is a realist, writing the most detailed social criticism and creating some of the most fascinating female characters in the genre...real women caught in impossible situations." The Village Voice
Review
"Splendid...immensely interesting...provocative, intelligent writing....A parable that deserves to be pondered." Cleveland Plain Dealer
Synopsis
This highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from award-winning author Octavia E. Butler "pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale" (John Green, New York Times)--now with a new foreword by N. K. Jemisin. When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.
Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.
Synopsis
This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author "pairs well with
1984 or
The Handmaid's Tale" and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green,
New York Times).
When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.
Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.
Synopsis
Parable of the Sower is a dystopian classic of terror and hope-the story of an African American teenage girl trying to survive in an all-too-real future-from the "grand dame" of science fiction, Octavia E. Butler. When unattended environmental and economic crises lead to social chaos, not even gated communities are safe. In a night of fire and death, Lauren Olamina, an empath and the daughter of a minister, loses her family and home and ventures out into the unprotected American landscape. But what begins as a flight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny...and the birth of a new faith, as Lauren becomes a prophet carrying the hope of a new world and a revoltionary idea christened "Earthseed."
Chilling and thought-provoking for adult and young adult readers alike, ..".there isn't a page in this vivid and frightening story that fails to grip the reader" (San Jose Mercury News).
About the Author
Octavia E. Butler is the author of many novels, including Dawn, Wild Seed, and Kindred. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Award and a Nebula Award, and she has twice won the Hugo Award. She passed away on February 24, 2006, at the age of 58.