Rating: 
Summary: Engaging Science Fiction
Review: Dismal, violent view of the near future, in which shortages have become so acute as to destroy the social fabric. The book is in the form of a diary of a teenage girl, whose determination, courage, and optimism put her into the role of a survivalist, and ultimately a religious leader.To criticize the book for a lack of realism misses the point. It is science fiction, and where it has a ring of truth it makes you look at reality differently. Butler is writing fiction, and does not promise that she thinks everything will ever be as she describes it in this mesmerizing book. Personally, I am not actually a fan of science fiction, but this book hooked me. Couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: an apocalyptic vision, with mutunt
Review: This is a very intense story set against the backdrop of the breakdown of an industrial society. Butler's vision of a chaotic LA is truly chilling, from the near-defenselessness of its innocents to the killing fury of its villains. In a way, it is the most realistic and grim from of all her science fiction, the most likely to happen. It never ceases to amaze me how ambitious Butler is! In earlier novels, she invents a divide of human speciation as well as a hybrid race that springs from extraterrestrial genetic traders. At the center of this story is an empath - a mutant whose abilities are not as fantstic as those in Butler's other novels - who embarks on a crusade to found and lead a new religion. Thus, Butler addresses the great themes of humanity with great inventiveness and utterly superb writing. She is a first rate novelist. Howver, I did find this novel rather slower than her others. Warmly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Parable of The Sower
Review: One of the best books we have read! Butler is a superb writer with an uncanny imagination.
Rating:
Summary: Deceptively simple storytelling working on multiple levels
Review: Octavia Butler's writing style is not grandiose or particularly outstanding; as a matter of fact, she can lull a reader into thinking they are reading a very simple story. Then, before you know it, you're wrapped in a tale with the multiple dimensions of meaning that mark true genius. PARABLE OF THE SOWER is too often read as a simple dystopian magnifying glass on the potential hell our society may become. Earthseed can be mistaken for a panacea. But Butler is deeper than that. This is not only a tale of the stark trajectory we may very well be headed for if we continue our disdain for the environment and each other, it's a story of how cults of personality can develop around a common misery. This is a difficult book. Her images paint horrific nightmares of a society disintregating to hideous barbarism. But she sheds vital insight on what conclusions may arise from some of our current premises, and she does it brilliantly. This book could change lives, if allowed to. But don't read it without reading the sequel, PARABLE OF THE TALENTS, which is brilliant as well. It rounds out the vision with hope. And hope married with action is exactly what we need.
Rating:
Summary: A book of great depth and hope. It's affect may suprise you
Review: I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to "Parable of Talents". This was my first Octavia Butler novel, and it was entirely different than I expected. I am a sci fi fan and this book did not entirely fit that description (this is not a criticism). Butler was able to immerse me into a world that was scary and brutal, yet not altogether unfathomable. In my mind, that is what was scariest. She diagramed a world of the poor and more or less ignored, only occasionally giving the reader a glimpse of the other layers of society...mostly in the form of very sparse political discussions. These people could not worry about political matters on the national scale, they had to satisfy Maslowe's hierarchy of needs for safety and shelter and food. These people who were only slightly above wild animals and yet somehow though they struggled for survival, they were able to retain their civility and their humanity. One of the other reviewers said that this vision already existed in some 3rd world countries and I believe that. While reading this tale, one gets an almost foreboding feeling that there but for an economic upheaval go I. Yet through it all, there is still a message of hope, that people need not exist at their basest elements to thrive, that trust in each other and compassion could be the determining factors in who survives in the end. A very deep book with all types of hidden messages. The depth of it sneaks up on you. It is an unassuming work of art.
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Summary: A True Story?
Review: What's interesting about Butler's writing is that it remains excitingly contemporary and quasi-surreal. There are elements that make you wonder if her stories press the mind to contemplate a new world. The story of Lauren Olamina seems to give credence to the religious adage that "a child shall lead them." Its her vision that eventually engulfs others into searching for a "future destiny," to a better land. The fact that the setting is on soon to be "modern-day" earth, one inadvertently contemplates how far our so-called civilization is from manifesting such "life-style."
Rating:
Summary: Butler's Best
Review: Phenominal Science Fiction novel for any age. True originality and innovation. I read it twice in 3 days and can't wait to again. Unreal! Incredible! a must read!
Rating: 
Summary: Critics should take a chill
Review: I have just finished Parable of the Sower. It was my first book by Butler, and may not be my last. The story caught my attention in the first fifty pages. I was hooked on the fate of a girl my age in a situation that could be my own. Now you must understand that the book is si-fi. It takes place in a world that is slowly being destroyed, like the torture of a war prisoner beaten to his knees, but in this world Butler deals with issues that every girl faces. This is a coming of age story. Like Catcher in the Rye the main character deals with loss, love, and a changing world outlook. Don't misunderstand this book will never be a classic it is not written in a way to speak to many people on many different levels, but it is a great quick read for women ages 12-35 or anyone who feels like they are still dealing with the pangs of adolecence. Butler is an excellent writer and I will continue to place her on my summer reading list.
Rating:
Summary: A New World, Hints of the One We Already Have
Review: I was thoroughly captivated by the world Ms. Butler crafts. Having worked outside the United States in many unstable parts of the world, I can see parallels in the responses of ordinary people to the breakdown of authority, to corruption and chaos. We see all kinds of answers in this book -- incapacitating fear, largely futile attempts at escape, but also an intense hope for basic humanity. Ms. Butler could use a better copy editor, but that's a minor distraction. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: My first sci-fi...
Review: A wonderful experience when you have a true love for literature. Butler writes sci-fi that makes you wonder. The offer of hope will always keep us. A powerful read, however at times, depressing and sad.
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