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Parable of the Talents (novel)

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Parable of the Talents
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
AuthorOctavia E. Butler
LanguageEnglish
SeriesParable trilogy
GenreDystopian, Science fiction novel
PublisherSeven Stories Press
Publication date
1998
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages365 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN1-888363-81-9 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC39478160
813/.54 21
LC ClassPS3552.U827 P38 1998
Preceded byParable of the Sower 

Parable of the Talents is the second in a series of science fiction novels written by Octavia E. Butler and published in 1998.[1]

Plot

Parable of the Talents (1998) (the sequel to Parable of the Sower) tells the story of how, as the U.S. continues to fall apart, the protagonist's community is attacked and taken over by a bloc of religious fanatics who inflict brutal atrocities. The novel is a harsh indictment of religious fundamentalism, and has been compared in that respect to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.[2]

Proposed third Parable novel

Butler had planned to write a third Parable novel, tentatively titled Parable of the Trickster, which would have focused on the community's struggle to survive on a new planet. She began this novel after finishing Parable of the Talents, and mentioned her work on it in a number of interviews, but at some point encountered a writer's block. She eventually shifted her creative attention, resulting in Fledgling, her final novel. The various false starts for the novel can now be found among Butler's papers at the Huntington Library, as described in an article at the Los Angeles Review of Books.[3]

Awards and nominations

  • Nebula Award Best Novel

See also

References

  1. ^ Jonas, Gerald (January 3, 1999). "Science Fiction". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Diemer Llewellyn, Jana (2006). "Rape in feminist utopian and dystopian fiction". The University of Hong Kong Libraries.
  3. ^ Canavan, Gerry (June 9, 2014). ""There's Nothing New / Under The Sun, / But There Are New Suns": Recovering Octavia E. Butler's Lost Parables". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved May 19, 2016.