Parable of the Talents
This sequal to Parable of the Sower follows Lauren Olamina and her Earthseed community as it grows—and then is viciously assaulted. A sect of violent Christians attacks Olamina’s village, killing many, stealing the children, and enslaving the survivors. Olamina has to lead her people through the worst possible grief, and reeimagine what Earthseed means. She lives long enough to see the first colonists set out on space ships—Earthseed’s destiny—but we don’t know what becomes of them. Butler died before the third Parable book could be completed, making the conclusion of Talents more final than perhaps intended. As a result, the books remain stubbornly focused on life on Earth, with the search for new worlds but a coda. Whether or not that was Butler’s plan, it feels prophetic.