Parable of the Talents
Environmental devastation and economic chaos have turned America into a land of depravity. Taking advantage of the situation, a zealous bigot wins his way into the White House. Lauren Olamina leads a new faith group directly opposed to the new government. This is the story of the group's struggle to preserve its vision. As the government turns a blind eye to the violent bigots who consider a black female leader a threat, Lauren Olamina must either sacrifice her child and her followers or forsake her religion. The plot contains profanity, sexual situations and violence,
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What Hacker News says
- > Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (near future post-apocalyptic sci-fi).
If you haven't read it, Parable of the Talents, the sequel, is also worth a read.
- if you like to read fiction related to this topic, i can recommend the Parable or Earthseed series by Octavia E. Butler, in particular the second book 'Parable of the Talents'
it describes a world where the national governments have lost control and people are fighting for resources.
it's a rather dystopian view, but it points out that in addition to living off the grid, which is difficult enough you will have to face others who want what you have.
only law and order and a strong community can protect you from that.
- I was going to recommend Octavia E. Butler, but I see she is already on the list. The whole Xenogenesis trilogy is good, not just Dawn (first in the series). Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents likewise.
And Connie Willis' To say nothing of the dog is hilarious! It will brighten anyone's day.
I'll just have to starting working through that list, now.
- Octavia Butler - The Parable Series (Parable of The Sower & Parable Of The Talents)
- Sometimes I imagine that I am a time traveling space alien so I can get a bit of emotional distance from what's going on. I imagine that I can leave this time and place [technically, I am leaving this time and place, but no faster than anyone else].
If I was a time travelling space alien I would find it very funny that the Conservative Republican party is not conservative or republican in any recognizable way.
A party that pushes for a unitary executive cannot be republican.
An executive that carelessly breaks existing government functions cannot be conservative.
If I could say one thing to MAGA and have them hear and understand it, it would be this "Donald Trump is a politician". Understand that he is not a Savior. He is not a hero. He does not care about you any more than any other politician.
There are many ways to understand this administration; here are a couple that I wish people would use more often:
1. MAGA is a cluster of ideologies and special interest groups draped in a flag, wearing a crown. The cluster of ideologies and interest groups are not particularly well aligned. There are at least two distinct genres of America First. You have MAHA vs Corporate Interests. Traditional Hawks vs Isolationists. etc etc.
2. Trump uses psychological manipulation without shame. If your reply is that all politicians do this, see my one message above.
~~~
I've just re-read Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents.
There's a lot there, and it's honestly a bit painful right now; one thing I keep thinking about is "God is Change". There's a lot of ways to interpret that, but the one that I keep thinking about is: In an information game, playing the game changes the game.
Political and economic moves change the game of politics and economics. When you plan your moves (IF you plan your moves), consider not only where you are going on the board, but also how the board will look when you get there.
- my favorite so far is The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell.
but the best thing i have done to get good book recommendations is to join a scifi book club where we pick a new title every month.
here is what we read until now:
everyone of these was selected by popular vote from a handful of nominations, which means each is endorsed by half a dozen or a dozen people.Andy Weir: Project Hail Mary William Gibson: Neuromancer Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice Chen Qiufan and Kai-Fu Lee: AI 2041 David Wellington: The Last Astronaut Nathan Lowell: Quarter Share Becky Chambers: A Psalm for the Wild-Built Octavia E Butler: Parable of the Talents John Scalzi: Kaiju Preservation Society David Brin: Kiln People Emma Straub: This Time Tomorrow Ursula K Le Guin: Left Hand of Darkness Dennis E Taylor: We are Legion Emily St John Mandel: Sea of Tranquility William Gibson: The Peripheral Dan Simmons: Hyperion Elisabet Moon: The Speed of Dark Alastair Reynolds: Eversion Adrian Tchaikovsky: Children Of Time Andromeda Romano-Lax: Plumb Rainsunfortunately i had to move and am no longer part of that club, and getting updates on their current selections is difficult.
anyone know of a similar club running online? (telegram, matrix or a forum maybe)
or is there interest in forming a club?
we could have a monthly HN post with recommendations, making selections by upvotes/downvotes, and a jitsi meetup to discuss the book afterwards.
