Recommendations
Books Like Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Acorn's destruction and Lauren's fight to rebuild Earthseed
If the Christian American Crusaders' destruction of Acorn, Lauren's enslavement, and Butler's account of religious authoritarianism drew you in, here are eight books that extend these themes.
- 1
Buy on AmazonParable of the Sower
by Octavia E. Butler
The duology's first volume — the essential predecessor; Lauren's creation of Earthseed and the founding of Acorn, the first half of the narrative that Parable of the Talents concludes.
- 2
Buy on AmazonKindred
by Octavia E. Butler
Butler's most accessible novel — the companion in its account of a Black woman in an impossible situation; the slavery Dana experiences in the past is the predecessor to the slave collars of Parable of the Talents.
- 3
Buy on AmazonThe Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
Atwood's theocratic dystopia — the companion in speculative fiction about Christian fundamentalism's seizure of power; Gilead's treatment of women under religious law parallels Jarret's treatment of Earthseed communities.
- 4Buy on Amazon
The Fifth Season
by N.K. Jemisin
Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy opener — the most important successor in speculative fiction by a Black woman about catastrophe and the destruction of communities; the Stillness's systematic persecution of orogenes is the companion to Jarret's persecution of Earthseed.
- 5
Buy on AmazonDawn
by Octavia E. Butler
The first Xenogenesis novel — Butler's other sustained speculation about forced transformation and survival; Lilith's compliance with the Oankali is the companion to Lauren's compliance with what she cannot fight.
- 6
Buy on AmazonIt Can't Happen Here
by Sinclair Lewis
Lewis's 1935 satirical novel about American fascism — the political predecessor; the demagogue who promises to restore greatness through religious violence is the American tradition Jarret belongs to.
- 7
Buy on AmazonThe Man in the High Castle
by Philip K. Dick
Dick's alternate history — the companion in speculative fiction about authoritarianism winning; the America that Did It Wrong, in a different historical moment and with a different focus.
- 8
Buy on AmazonOryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood
Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy opener — the companion in speculative fiction about the destruction of civilization; corporate power destroying the world is the secular version of Jarret's religious authoritarian destruction.
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