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Parable of the Talents  By  cover art

Parable of the Talents

By: Octavia E. Butler
Narrated by: Patricia R. Floyd, Peter Jay Fernandez, Sisi Aisha Johnson
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Publisher's summary

Environmental devastation and economic chaos have turned America into a land of horrifying depravity. Assault, theft, sexual abuse, slavery, and murder are commonplace. Taking advantage of the situation, a zealous, bigoted tyrant wins his way into the White House.

Directly opposed is Lauren Olamina, founder of Earthseed - a new faith that teaches "God Is Change". Persecuted for "heathen" beliefs as much as for having a Black female leader, Earthseed's followers face a life-and-death struggle to preserve their vision.

Best-selling author Octavia Butler's fluid writing and keen observations about race, gender, politics, and religion make for a moving parable that will be pondered for generations. A powerful reading from three standout narrators captures the multi-generational sweep of this poignant tale.

Butler's acclaimed novels have won numerous awards, and she is a recipient of a "genius" grant from the MacArthur Foundation. Parable of the Talents was selected as one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly.

©2007 Octavia Butler (P)2007 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

  • Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1999

"Octavia E. Butler is one of the finest voices in fiction....period." (Washington Post Book World)
"These...are the keynotes of Talents: family and characters, warmth and endurance, hope and determination. It's a worthy book, well up to Butler's standard for thoughtfulness and insight." (Analog Science Fiction & Fact)
"Though not for the faint-hearted, this work stands out as a testament to the author's enormous talent, and to the human spirit." (Publishers Weekly)

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What listeners say about Parable of the Talents

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Again, so prescient

As with “Parable of the Sower,” this amazing novel, written in the 1990s, describes so much that has come into being after 2016, including a despotic president whose campaign slogan is “make America great again.“ I just about fell over when I read that in the novel. This is a terrific novel for the ages and I couldn’t stop listening.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Take Me To Another Place

Loved it, listened over n over to the exciting parts, helped me escape each day

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Great Book!

I dislike that the narrator is different than the first book. But overall great series.

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will we avoid this future?

I was terrified reading this book. It is too close to next week. And yet that is not the most painful aspect of this book. The interplay between Lauren and her daughter, the painful ways that they do not know each other and fail each other, give the book teeth and it bites hard.

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Moving take relevant to our time

I may have enjoyed this sequel to the original, partly because it seemed to dig deep while being simple and moving. It’s impossible not to see our own time reflected in the words and the characters were complex and clear.

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Great story with well done audio

This story is such a scary parallel to current times. - great way to illuminate what a dangerous road we are on. Octavia almost predicted the future

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interesting follow up

I liked this as a continuation to Parable of the Sower. It got a little gory and depressing in certain sections but overall a great book.

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bad editing

I was more than happy with the book and it's telling. the audiobook did seem poorly edited to the point i was distracted at the transition between chapters.

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More relevant than ever…

“Make America Great Again” aye? Seriously we can learn so much in stories, this one is so well woven and so groundbreaking, I’m recommending it to all of my friends.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Wonderful continuation

Loved the story, found the voice acting distractingly bad and the editing poorly done. Wish that Thigpen had lived to reprise her reading in the first book.

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