The Science Fiction Novel that (Almost) Predicted 2024

[@jesict3763]

I bought a copy like three years ago and finally happened to pick it up last month. Did an absolute double-take when I realized I was reading the Sat Aug 17, 2024 entry on that real date

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah it's pretty striking

[@teviston7288]

i read parable of the sower, the bluest eyes, and the handmaids tale all in a row and was just broken after. great books but damn they can drain you.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh man, that is quite the sequence of books! Bluest Eye is one I need to tackle soon

[@lunacascade1125]

I had some of the same feelings when reading "Handmaid's Tale" I read both Sower & Talent in 2019. These are 2 of my all time top books I've read in my lifetime. Here in the U.S. then and now are scary times. It was eerie how prophetic Ms. Butler's plot events and cultural leanings were/ were on point, down to even to the slogan " Make America Great Again".😔

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah it's so fascinating and eerie what she predicted

[@O.M.G.Puppies]

Butler is one of my favorites. Orson Scott Card wrote a book about writing, and he used the opening of "Wild Seed" as an example of perfect writing.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I seriously need to reread Wild Seed

[@AntisocialAuntie]

I am putting the first one on my "why not try it?" list but will wait until after our US election to see if I can handle it 🤭😁

[@Unpotted]

Yeah, good idea. 🥴 😺✌️

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I get that

[@artstories52]

Great review and information. I have wanted to read Octavia Butler. So, now is the time. I will try Sower.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Do it

[@Zugzug386]

Hi Rachel very much appreciate the point of this being a work to approach when you are in the right place. I tried it earlier this year and had a death in the family when I was about a third of the way through. Was more than I could process at the time in addition to the wider politics, global warming, and other topics. But definitely found the characters and author's style to be engaging. So I put it on my list to come back to down the road. Happy you are covering this and having that forewarning about the sequel and unfinished nature of the series.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah this is one I purposely held off until I was in a good space

[@dalejones4322]

Butler was such a thoughtful soul. I've watched a few interviews with her. She seems like an amazing woman and someone that I would have liked to be friends with.

[@laurenthompson2404]

You convinced me to read the first book! Thanks!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Hope you enjoy it

[@KaylasBestie]

Great video! Ms. Butler is by far one of my favorite authors. Loved the book, too. Dont know how you feel about graphic novels, but there's a good one that tells the story. Tananarive Due is another favorite. Octavia was one of her favorites. Thanks and take care!!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I will have to check the graphic novel version out

[@vintagesf]

Looking forward to reading these books! Thanks for the video!

[@Millie.C]

I remember so vividly from Parable of the Sower how real the possibility of such a future felt. And I read it way before 2020. I didn't go on to read the second book, I was actually satisfied with just reading the first one and I would recommend it to anyone even as just a standalone. The hyper-empathy plot seemed like it didn't lead anywhere - maybe it's more relevant in the sequel? But I think a lot of highly sensitive people can relate a little bit to it.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I can't believe you read into 2020. With the hyper empathy, I feel like it more was a literary tool that have deep significant from a plot perspective

[@chokog2446]

Thank you so much for continuing to deliver such wonderful and helpful to readers content!!! 😊

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks

[@mariareadsssf]

I adore Octavia E. Butler. Reading "Earthseed" was so impactful for me. I know you love Horror, so I strongly recommeng her short story "Bloodchild". I lovet the entire collection, pariculary her Utopia, "The Book of Martha", one of my favorite short stories of all times.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Appreciate the recs!

[@TheMike28212]

Great review! I hope to read these in the near future. 🌎

[@rebeccateseneer1166]

I throughly enjoyed Parable of the Sower as well as Kindred. ❤❤❤

[@josephlindsey3062]

Hey Rachel have you heard of the book “The Light Pirate” by Lily Brooks-Dalton? It touched on many of the same themes as “parable of the sower “: a near-future where climate change in Florida slowly whittles away the normalcy of the main character’s lives. I loved it and would definitely recommend! Appreciate your reviews as always.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I haven't read that one but you are making me want to move it up on my tbr

[@BohemianPaul]

I enjoyed reading The Parable of the Sower but I did end up dnfing The Parable of the Talents. It might have been timing I read them back in 2020. I might need to give it another shot.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm impressed that anyone could read this series in 2020

[@wiebkeh.4394]

Interesting take on the second book. I understood Talents to be to Sower what Dune Messiah was to Dune in regards to the main character. I hope that's not too cryptic, I'm trying not to spoiler.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I actually haven't read Messiah so you have me curious

[@krishnalelis]

Nice to see your opinion, because I think the second book is as good as the first one.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Hey I will always welcome different opinions. I still gave it 4 star so it only suffered (for me) in comparison to the first when I read them back to back

[@cherylclough4309]

I loved both those books in an eerie, frightened sort of way. I just found out last night that a group of parents in my little, rural Midwestern town is trying to ban Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which was a winner of the National Book Award. Apparently, they are offended by his views on Christianity and some of the sexual content. They haven’t yet succeeded, but…Can’t happen here, eh? My Book Group read Kindred by Octavia Butler this year. If you haven’t yet read it, highly recommend.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Love Kindred

[@GwenCooper-l1b]

Love these books, Octavia Butler is truly amazing!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes!

[@KittenCece]

It feels so disorienting, stressful, and frustrating that we are tslking about a post apocalyptic book feeling like it predicted events of our current landscape. I believe it - but i cannot interface with that right now. Im tapping out 4 and a half minutes into this because i am not in a mental space to absorb this ❤

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Definitely put your mental health first And I purposely said "almost" because thankfully our world doesn't hit the lows she describes

[@thefuzzybookdragon]

Such a great writer and I particularly love these two books.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I need to read everything she has written

[@epiphoney]

Greg Iles' huge Southern Man is supposed to be very political about the near future.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I really need to read some Greg Illes

[@joewatts9132]

Interesting synopsis, I haven't read it. 1993 is a lot different from 2024, I feel like a lot of things have created that but almost certainly social media is probably a cause of it

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah apparently it's 30 years not 20 (lol) but I just wanted to mention that it wasn't a super long time ago. Like books written in the early 1900s that have predicted recent things

[@joewatts9132]

Might as well call them "predictionaries".

[@halko1802]

🌎 🌱

[@BobbyHall-eu1xv]

I enjoyed Parable Of The Sower and even gifted a copy to both my Mother and Sister, but the sequel just didn't hold my interest and I DNF'd it...maybe I will revisit it in the future.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I still thought it was good. But it was a step down (for me) from the perfection of book 1

[@NOYFB982]

31 years!! Not 20.

[@DanielSolis]

The 1990s are always going to feel 20 years ago to me. 😅

[@TheShadesofOrange]

You are absolutely right 🤦‍♀️

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah my brain is forever stuck there

[@NOYFB982]

My comment was not at all intended to be critical; it was to highlight that the author was indeed prescient.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

@@NOYFB982 I didn't take it poorly. It's factual true. It's funny how my brain still thinks the 90s were 20 years ago.

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

Haven’t read it but the parallels to today sound amazing our next presidential election could decide everything in the US and maybe even the fate of the world so I’m hanging on breathlessly to see how things turn out⚛️❤️

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah American readers might prefer to read it after the election... or not

[@ayidas]

🌎 🌱

[@ChristinaJenkins36]

🌍 🌱

[@roanokebrooks]

🛸

[@lamarhenderson8058]

30 years.

[@TenseTurkeybutt]

She might be scared to have her viewers realize how old they are. So maybe 20 feels better to say lol

[@TheShadesofOrange]

You are absolutely right 🤦‍♀️

[@Jzscrstsprstr]

🌎

[@Castabulan]

Political science fiction is the best science fiction.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I lot of people in my comments feel differently but yes I personally love that intersection

[@Octobig]

🌏🌱

[@zubaerchaudhari8267]

Hello there hey there hey Hello hi there there

[@geonapbin]

🚀🛸👽

[@Maeve_Ever_Books]

🌎🌱

[@candicebarbata5028]

🌎🌱✨

[@socaltoobie8984]

🌎🌍🌏

[@EricBowersTrekkie]

🌎🌱 🌍🌱 🌏🌱

[@Tetsujin-28]

☕💜🧩🎮