From a celebrated author, the thrilling sequel to The Parable of the Sower—a cautionary novel ahead of its time, perfect for fans of The Broken Earth trilogy.
In 2032, Lauren Olamina has survived the destruction and ruin of everything she knew. Her peaceful community based on her newly founded faith, Earthseed, provides refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president. Under his rule, Lauren's colony—a minority religious faction led by a young Black woman—becomes a target for the president’s reign of terror and oppression.
Years later, Asha Vere reads the journals of a mother she never knew. As she searches for answers, she struggles to reconcile with the legacy of a mother caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future.
"In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time, Octavia Butler's 'Parable' books may be unmatched."—The New Yorker
"If we're talking must-read authors like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, the one-and-only Octavia Butler needs be a part of the conversation. The groundbreaking sci-fi and speculative fiction author was a master of spinning imaginative tales that introduced you to both the possibilities -- and dangers -- of the human race, all while offering lessons on tribalism, race, gender, and sexuality."—O, The Oprah Magazine
"The Earthseed books are instructional in a way that other apocalypse fictions are not . . . they offer something beyond practical preparations: a blueprint for adjusting to uncertainty."—Slate
"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