Rating: 
Summary: The Conclusion of Octavia Butler's Masterpiece
Review: This is one of the very best novels ever written; it ranks right alongside Edgar Pangborn's "Davy." The sequel to "Parable of the Sower," it is that rarity: a sequel even better than the book it is a sequel of. The America portrayed in the Earthseed novels is indeed horrible, but it is eminently believable as a possible result of the corruption and incompetence of the faux President and his evil cronies. Could Octavia Butler be a prophet as well as a brilliant writer?Some have complained about the dark future envisioned in "Earthseed." But while it is entirely appropriate to be horrified and angered by the cruelty, oppression, and injustice of the future Butler presents, we should be inspired by Lauren's continuing hope and perseverence and determination and the eventual triumph of Earthseed. We should be doing everything we can to insure that the bleak future described in the "Earthseed" novels will NOT actually happen, because that future, frightening as it is to contemplate, is all too possible. I read "Parable of the Talents" before I was able to get my hands on "Parable of the Sower." Both novels are so outstandingly excellent that little was lost by reading them in the wrong order, but it would be better to read "Parable of the Sower" first.
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