Parable of the Sower

Octavia Butler

I found myself disappointed in this book due to the level of graphic violence which occupied too much space and left the back story and characters less fully developed than I enjoy.

I think back story is particularly important in dystopian novels. A few scenes of graphic and gory violence would be needed to set the atmosphere, of course. However, in more than half the book there were violent scenes on each page. It got tedious and, well, boring. The religion wasn't really much of a grabber for me either. Atwood does this kind of thing much better. I know, I know .. unfair to compare Butler to her. But The Handmaid's Tale was a terrific dystopian novel.

I do think Butler is a good writer and worthy of my attention :)). I intend to give her another whirl sometime but will not continue on in this series.