Book Review: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

 

Parable of the Sower       

Author: Octavia E. Butler

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition

American release date: April 30, 2019

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Dystopian Fiction/368 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Lauren Olamina is fifteen years old, the daughter of a Baptist preacher. She lives a sheltered life with her family inside a gated community in the Los Angeles area. But sheltered is a relative term as the world has become something virtually unrecognizable from what it once was. Drastic global climate change and a series of economic crises have proven to be too much for mankind to handle and society has disintegrated into lawless chaos. Mere survival is a struggle and the luxuries of yesterday but a dream. What is left of any government is of no help. If you want police protection, you have to pay for it, and there is no guarantee you’ll receive it. Building on fire? The fire department will charge you for the water to put it out.

Lauren lives with her father and stepmother and three brothers. Her birth mother was addicted during her pregnancy to a drug that caused Lauren to become hyperempathetic – she can feel other’s pain, and that is not a good thing. Even living in a gated community isn’t a perfect solution. There are problems within and problems without. Junkies and others break in to rob and harm people. A new drug, called Pyro, causes those who take it to enjoy setting fires, so that is what they do.

People dream of leaving the state and heading north – to Oregon, Washington, or even Canada. But there is no guarantee that safety lies up North, or that other states will allow people inside their territory.

Lauren has listened to what her father preaches all of her life, but at fifteen, she no longer believes in his religion. She has her own ideas about how things work, and she begins to write them down. She calls it Earthseed, and at the core is her belief that God is change. She keeps her writings secret, and she also prepares a pack of necessities, in case she has to leave in a hurry.  Her forethought proves to be propitious when an unexpected calamity drives her away from her home, heading who knows where. Now it’s a question of how she can survive, and who can she trust?

This is my first time reading Octavia Butler, but it won’t be my last. She is an excellent writer who draws you into her world so that you quickly become immersed.  The dystopian world she describes is eerily similar to the world we now live in, although written in 1993. But the book itself begins in 2024, which is unnerving at times, and continues up through 2027. I have to warn you that it is a bleak story in many ways, where the rich have everything and the poor are fighting for scraps, with little protection or guidance. It’s almost as if she could read the future.

I like the basic concept of Earthseed, but I would make one change in her philosophy. I would not refer to any God, for that term is really outdated and archaic, but I think Life works instead. Life is change. And that we know to be true. If this is our future, it is bleak indeed. Change needs to happen, and quickly. There is a second book in the series, which I intend to read. I’m hoping for a happy, or at least a happier ending. This book is well worth reading. And hopefully someone will come away from it with ideas on how to keep it from happening.

Gideon's Sword Review

Gideon’s Sword  

Authors: Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

American release date: February 11, 2011

Format/ Genre/Length: Novel/Thriller/342 pages

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Similar series or titles to check out: the Pendergast series, by the same authors

Gideon Crew watched his father get shot down by his government employers, accused of treason. Gideon was only twelve when his world was turned upside down, an event from which his mother never recovered. It sent her into a downward spiral which continued until her own death. Gideon vowed to wreak vengeance on the ones who’d destroyed his family.

Synopsis:

L. Melvin Crew was a world-class mathematician who’d worked for a government agency. He was accused of causing the deaths of 26 field agents, and was summarily executed during a hostage situation, right before his son’s eyes, although he had clearly surrendered and was unarmed. Gideon refuses to believe he was guilty. He distances himself from things, following a rather illegal career path. It isn’t until some twelve years later, at the request of his dying mother, that he goes after the man responsible for his father’s death, amassing the evidence he needs to clear his father. And the name of the man that was responsible for his death—retired General Chamblee Tucker.

After clearing his father’s name, Gideon thinks he’s going to spend a little time at his remote cabin, relaxing and fishing. But Fate has other ideas. A strange man turns up unexpectedly, with a very lucrative offer. One which Gideon cannot refuse. He decides to at least listen, and finds himself on a flight to NYC. There he meets the extraordinary engineer Eli Glinn, owner and chief CEO of EES—Effective Engineering Solutions, Inc.

How to explain Eli Glinn and EES? They specialize in the discipline of failure analysis, among other things. They take on difficult, unusual, and critical tasks that no one else can handle. And they do it discreetly. Eli has a job for Gideon, one he believes the other man to be perfect for. He knows all about his doings with Chamblee Tucker. As well as Gideon’s stint as a major art thief. Gideon doesn’t really have a lot of choice here, so he agrees. Especially when information of a rather personal nature is revealed, and Gideon assumes a what the hell attitude.

First things first. A Chinese scientist is on his way to the US; he carries plans for a new high-technology weapon. It is believed this weapon is more powerful than the H-bomb. Gideon’s mission is to tail him from the airport, upon his arrival, and take the plans away from him and then bring them to Glinn. The fee is $100k. He has four hours until Mark Wu’s arrival. Four hours in which to figure out how he’s gonna do it.

From the very beginning, things do not go as planned. Gideon Crew is in for the ride of his life.

  

Commentary:

I am a huge fan of Preston & Child, so it was inconceivable that I would not read this book and review it. I loved it from the beginning. I found myself caught up in Gideon’s dilemma, in the tragedy of his childhood which formed his life and his personality, made him what he is. Gideon himself is a likeable character, and you come to care for him, and cheer him on to ultimate success. The secondary characters are every bit as believable, and well-drawn. P&C suck you into this fast-paced world of high stakes technology. Luckily our guide knows what he’s doing.

I found one small continuity error which an editor should have caught, but oh well. If you read the jacket, it states that Gideon’s father died when he was 12. At 24 Gideon begins his mission of vengeance. The book begins in 1988, therefore twelve years later should be 2000. But the book says 1996. Small error, but I’m anal enough to pick up on it.

I loved the cliffhanger ending, and I am hoping there will be more of Gideon Crew. No, don’t worry, they finished the first story, just dangled a second one like a carrot in front of Gideon’s face. I think he has little choice but to take it. I’ll definitely be there to see what he does with it.