Parable of the Talents [Hardcover]

Octavia Butler tackles the creation of a new religion, the making of a god, and the ultimate fate of humanity in her Earthseed series, which began with Parable of the Sower, and now continues with Parable of the Talents. The saga began with the near-future dystopian tale of Sower, in which young Lauren Olamina began to realize her destiny as a leader of people dispossessed and destroyed by the crumbling of society. The basic principles of Lauren's faith, Earthseed, were contained in a collection of deceptively simple proverbs that Lauren used to recruit followers. She teaches that "God is change" and that humanity's ultimate destiny is among the stars.

In Parable of the Talents, the seeds of change that Lauren planted begin to bear fruit, but in unpredictable and brutal ways. Her small community is destroyed, her child is kidnapped, and she is imprisoned by sadistic zealots. She must find a way to escape and begin again, without family or friends. Her single-mindedness in teaching Earthseed may be her only chance to survive, but paradoxically, may cause the ultimate estrangement of her beloved daughter. Parable of the Talents is told from both mother's and daughter's perspectives, but it is the narrative of Lauren's grown daughter, who has seen her mother made into a deity of sorts, that is the most compelling. Butler's writing is simple and elegant, and her storytelling skills are superb, as usual. Fans will be eagerly awaiting the next instalment in what promises to be a moving and adventurous saga. --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Parable of the Talents celebrates the classic Butlerian themes of alienation and transcendence, violence and spirituality, slavery and freedom, separation and community, to astonishing effect, in the shockingly familiar, broken world of 2032. Long awaited, Parable of the Talents is the continuation of the travails of Lauren Olamina, the heroine of 1994's Nebula-Prize finalist, bestselling Parable of the Sower. Parable of the Talents is told in the voice of Lauren Olamina's daughter—from whom she has been separated for most of the girl's life—with sections in the form of Lauren's journal. Against a background of a war-torn continent, and with a far-right religious crusader in the office of the U.S. presidency, this is a book about a society whose very fabric has been torn asunder, and where the basic physical and emotional needs of people seem almost impossible to meet.

Winner of the Nebula Award and shortlisted for the Arthur C Clark Award this is the novel that inspired Walter Mosley to write Blue Light. The second book of the Earthseed series (the first being Parable of the Sower).

In 2032, in a devastated United States, Lauren Olamina sets out on the dangerous road to find her daughter Larkin; stolen from her, to be raised by Lauren's enemies. But Lauren is also compelled by her own ambition - to spread the word of her religion 'Earthseed'. A compulsion to power that drives her onwards to become a powerful political figure with the inevitable feet of clay herself.

'Butler's novel is a compassionated riposte to the ugly propaganda of America's survivalists and other right-wing Aryan weirdos. But it is also a reminder that unchecked fundamentalism - of any kind - could easily make the 21st century even more barbarous than the last. And, although the events of the book are often brutal and disturbing, it is a moving statement of faith in the resilience of the human spirit. Tough, thought provoking, intelligent, humane ... Parable of the Talents is the sort of book that threatens to give science fiction a good name.' The Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

They'll make a god of her.
I think that would please her, if she could know about it. In spite of all her protests and denials, she's always needed devoted, obedient followers - disciples - who would listen to her and believe everything she told them. And she needed large events to manipulate. All gods seem to need these things.
Her legal name was Lauren Oya Olamina Bankole. To those who loved her or hated her, she was simply "Olamina".
She was my biological mother.
She is dead. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.