paigeawesome

This book is super good. It is brilliant and even more than I was expecting based on the first one. It's more complex than the first in the series, more to think about. And there was a lot for me to think about. It kept me up at night (unusual for a book), thinking about the scenarios in these books, how things have played out in the past, how things are playing out right now. As other reviewers have noted, scenarios like the ones posed in this book can't be easily dismissed, since they have happened throughout history--people are perfectly capable of them. And now with the revelation of programs like XKeyscore it becomes even more frightening. There was a part early in the book where Asha/Larkin says that if Lauren & Bankole had gone to Halsted, an established town, she thinks that they wouldn't have been targets. If Butler had written the surveillance and technological capability of today into this story, there would have been no hiding if those in power wanted to find her. It's a very disturbing thought.

Also in this book there's more to think about re: Lauren's personality and Earthseed, mainly due to challenges to her position (the first book was just her journal; this one also includes writings from three other people). And even just the title, I feel like there's a lot to unpack there. It's really interesting and there's a lot going on and I wish wish wish that a book club that I'm a part of would pick it up and read it so I could talk to someone about it :3 I don't even have any friends on Goodreads who have read it...which makes me sad. I have the zeal of the newly converted, I know, but WHY HAVE YOU GUYS NOT READ MORE OCTAVIA BUTLER????

Anyway I truly loved this book and its prequel. A-w-e-s-o-m-e. Now I'm off to look for essays about them...