I think this is one of those graphic novels that would be great to read as a novel prior to reading the graphic novel adaptation. For some reason, I could not get interested in this novel and had to force myself to read it. As this ARC did not have the final outline and coloring included, it felt very messy reading viewing the panels and getting invested in the story. I would definitely pick up this book after reading the original novel to see how the graphic novel adaption turned out to be. But for now, I could not enjoy reading this.

This was a really nice adaptation of a fantastic story. I particularly liked the lettering on the passages from the Books of Earthseed, which mimicked someone's journal. It added to the feeling of the story a lot.

I enjoyed this graphic novel adaptation of the classic by Octavia Butler. I never read the book but now I feel as if I know the story.

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll admit it...I've never read a single book that Octavia Butler has written. It's on my list of things to do. This graphic novel was my first exposure to Butler, even though I realize it is an adaptation of her original work. I liked the story. It was honest, went at a slow, gentle pace, and shared a message of family, sadness, and the reality of deprivation.
As for the graphic element of this graphic novel...it was in a different format than I am used to. It was very harsh and put together, but this worked with the story that was being told. This wasn't a neat, tidy story, so I think the images spoke to that in a visual way.
I would recommend this book to a friend, if given the opportunity. For all I know, this might be the perfect introduction to Butler. I'm going to say it is, because I still haven't read any of her published works, although I have some sitting on my night stand waiting for me.

'The Parable of the Sower: The Graphic Novel' is an adaptation of a work by the late, great Octavia E. Butler. The adaptation is done by Damian Duffy with illustrations by John Jennings.

The story is told through the eyes of Lauren Olamina, a preacher's daughter, living in a hellish near-future Los Angeles. Lauren keeps a diary of her life, and of Earthseed, a religious idea she is building on. While Lauren and her family are safe, the outside world will come barging in, and Lauren has to learn to use violence, even though she has an almost psychic connection with the pain of others. One terrible night, Lauren must leave what she knows and hit the road North, to hopefully better days.

The burden of adapting is what do you leave out and what do you leave in. The adapter chooses to kind of refrain the whole Earthseed ideology making it better, in my opinion. The art in this was a whole other story. While I really liked the cover art, the art inside is really unfinished looking. I think maybe the artist was going along with the whole journal/sketchbook nature of what Lauren is writing in with the kind of rapid sketching you'd do if you were on the run, but it didn't really work for me.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Abrams ComicArts and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

The first time I read Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower was back in 2012. I thought I had read it in college, but as I noted in my Goodreads review (bit.ly/2QbW7Io): “If I had, I would have remembered sitting up all night unable to sleep.” The book unnerved me mainly because of how plausible it could be in real life. To take another line from my review, “Butler’s dystopia is a lot farther, and yet a lot closer, than we think.” These days, I feel that statement even more.

Read the full review at the link below.

Actual rating: 3.5

Parable of the Sower was an interesting read. This was the first story I have read by Octavia E. Butler and I quite enjoyed it.

I have not read the novel that this graphic novel adaptation is based on, but I think that I would enjoy this better having read the novel. I was quite confused about the context of the story as it was not explained in detail, so it took me quite a while to understand what was happening. The story moved at a decent pace but I had hoped to get more background information from the main characters. I also felt that since the plot moved well, the development of the relationships between everyone was glossed over.

Other than those things, I quite enjoyed this adaptation and would recommend it to fans of dystopian books.

A spectacular reincarnation of Octavia E. Butler’s masterpiece.

** Trigger warning for violence, including rape. **

I’ve been staring at a blank screen for upwards of fifteen minutes, trying to figure out how best to summarize the first half of (what I consider to be) Octavia E. Butler’s magnum opus, the PARABLES duology. In the interest of expediency, I’ll just lift the synopsis from my review of the original:

###

Lauren Olamina isn’t like the other kids in her neighborhood, a walled-off city block in Robledo, just twenty miles outside of Los Angeles. Born to a drug-addicted mother, Lauren is afflicted with hyperempathy – the ability to share in the pain and pleasure of others, whether she wants to or not. This makes her an especially easy target for bullies – brother Keith used to make her bleed for fun when they were younger – so Lauren’s weakness is a carefully guarded secret, one shared only with her family. In this crumbling world, a near-future dystopia that’s all too easy to imagine, humans already devour their own: literally as well as figuratively. Lauren won’t make herself an easy meal.

As if her hyperempathy isn’t alienating enough, Lauren has another secret, one that she only shares with her diary. The daughter of a Baptist preacher, Lauren no longer believes in her father’s god. Instead, she’s cultivating her own system of belief – Earthseed:

All that you touch
You Change.
All that you Change
Changes you.
The only lasting truth
Is Change.
God
Is Change.

Lauren gathers these verses into a book that she comes to think of as “The Books of the Living.” Her new religion? Earthseed. Its destination? The stars.

PARABLE OF THE SOWER is Lauren’s journal (of a sort). Begun on the eve of her 15th birthday and concluding more than three years later, through her diary we witness the collapse of Lauren’s fragile world. In a country wracked by poverty, climate change, mass unemployment, homelessness, drug abuse, class warfare, and unspeakable violence, Lauren’s small community is a fortress of sorts. Though they’re far from well-off, the diverse neighborhood manages to produce enough food and goods (and occasionally for-pay labor) to sustain itself. The residents put personal animosity aside to protect and care for one another: rotating night watches keep would-be thieves at bay; when one resident’s garage catches fire, everyone becomes a firefighter; and Lauren’s step-mom Cory schools the neighborhood kids in her own home, since it’s too dangerous to venture outside the walls.

It’s not much, but it’s home. But even at the tender age of 15, Lauren can see it unraveling: “We’ll be moved, all right. It’s just a matter of when, by whom, and in how many pieces.”

After a series of blows – the disappearance of Lauren’s father; several successful infiltrations by thieves; a fire that claims all but one member of its household – Lauren’s community finally falls. Drugged out on “pyro,” a group of painted arsonists torch the neighborhood, killing and raping its residents. Lauren is just one of three to escape. Along with Zahra – the youngest of Richard Moss’s wives – and fellow teenager Harry, they hit the road in search of water and work. A safe place to pitch their (proverbial) tent. And, for Lauren, a safe haven in which to establish the very first Earthseed community.

###

Butler is one of my all-time favorite authors, second only to Margaret Atwood (who, admittedly, often suffers from some pretty glaring blind spots when it comes to race; see, e.g., THE HANDMAID'S TALE); and her Parables duology occupies a special, even vital, place in my heart.

So when I heard that Damian Duffy and John Jennings were working on a graphic novel adaptation, I did an ecstatic happy dance in my seat, and wondered at its progress at least once a week for the next nine months or so. If it was just half as good as their treatment of KINDRED, I reasoned, I could die a happy fangirl.

As it turns out? PARABLE OF THE SOWER is every bit as good as KINDRED. Which is to say, not quite as good as the source material, but pretty damn close.

The artwork is gorgeous, and quite similar in style to that found in KINDRED. The dull browns and beiges evoke the dreary hopelessness of Lauren’s world, and are juxtaposed with pages of vibrant (yet often threatening) reds and oranges, and moody, atmospheric blues. The narrative text appears on ruled paper, expertly calling up images of Lauren’s journal, the birth place of Earthseed. I love how Lauren’s style evolves with time as she adapts her appearance to the world around her: when she and her friends hit the road, Lauren chops all her hair off so that she can pass as a man.

As for the plot, Duffy manages to distill Butler’s wisdom from a 350-odd page book to a much shorter graphic novel with ease. It’s been a few years since I’ve read Parables, but I didn’t spot any significant changes to the plot or message. (Though some of the verses of Earthseed might have migrated from TALENTS to SOWER. To wit: “In order to rise from its own ashes, a phoenix first must burn,” the latter portion of which will grace an upcoming science fiction anthology edited by Patrice Caldwell and featuring “16 stories of Black Girl Magic, resistance, and hope.” I CANNOT WAIT.)

While I am indeed a sucker for feminist dystopian fiction, it’s Lauren’s science-based religion that really resonates with me. I feel like we’re kindred spirits in this way. I’m an atheist who understands that, sometimes, being an atheist *sucks*. It can be harsh and hurtful and bleak. Religion offers comfort in the face of adversity and loss. Saying goodbye to someone you love is painful; saying goodbye for forever is downright crushing. Sometimes I wish I believed in the afterlife, in a Good Place and a Bad Place, or in karma and reincarnation. I wish I had hope that I’d see my lost loved ones again.

But I can’t make myself believe in something I don’t, and so I stitch together my own little safety blanket of quasi-religious truths. Lauren’s Books of the Living plays a pretty hefty role, as does Philip Pullman’s HIS DARK MATERIALS (especially the scenes where Lyra and Will lead the despairing spirits from the World of the Dead so that they can reunite with their daemons in the natural world).

There’s Carl Sagan’s starstuff and Aaron Freeman’s “You want a physicist to speak at your funeral.”

The collective consciousness known simply as the Library in Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies trilogy, and Griffin’s ideas about alternate universes in Adam HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME.

Theo Pappas’s ideas about thoughts, memories, and electrical impulses; heat and light; gas and carbon and star parts, given life and form and structure by Erika Swyler in LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS.

The wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff in Kate Mascarenhas’s THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TIME TRAVEL, and the implications this mutability of death holds for the grieving.

And then there are maxims like these. [Insert images of The Books of the Living here.]

While PARABLE OF THE SOWER is a grim story, all the more so for its prescience, it is not one without hope: like a phoenix from the ashes, Lauren rises from the rubble that was her home and introduces her fellow survivors and refugees to a new way of thinking, believing, and being. A spirituality that celebrates harmony with the natural world, rather than a system of dominance and destruction. A journey rooted in truth, yet propelled upward by visions of something better. Earthseed is lovely and brimming with promise, and I hope it takes root (though not among the stars – not until humanity can be entrusted with its own home planet, anyway).

Striking visuals paired with Octavia Butler's prose make for an enchanting and poignant read. Loved this adaptation!

I have not read "Parable of the Sower" before, so I cannot state how accurate the graphic novel adaptation is, but I did enjoy the story. It's actually scary to read considering this is a future that's only 4 or 5 years away, and the things she talks about, (going to Mars, climate destruction, rampant drug use, slave wages) are really close to truth. This is an excellent dystopian novel about survival, and about being willing to work for the chance to rebuild a better life.

Lauren is the eldest child of a Baptist preacher, her mother died when she was born due to drugs, and because of this Lauren is hypersensitive. Meaning, when others feel physical pain so does she, but conveniently she also feels pleasure. She's learned to hide this fact about her as it has made her a target by angry individuals, including her brother. She doesn't believe in the god that her father preaches about, but she does believe that something is there, something is worth paying attention to, and so she starts keeping a journal. While trying to survive, and care for those around her, she begins the opening thoughts of Earthseed, the true way of the universe. Everything is change, everything will change, learn to go with the change. I'm sure I don't fully understand the philosophy/belief behind Earthseed, but it's a very calming way to view the universe even if we're all hurtling towards chaos.

Eventually her neighborhood is ransacked by drug-crazed people that leave her with nothing left, so she grabs her journals and her go bag and whatever else she can find and begins to head north, because that's where new opportunities, better opportunities, are supposed to be. As she walks along the highway she meets up with more and more people, trusting some, killing others, and her flock grows. Not everyone believes in Earthseed, but everyone in her group is willing to work together and support each other. I honestly kept waiting for the moment of betrayal from someone in the group as is so common in most of these plot lines, but thankfully Butler has created a messed up enough world that the inner betrayal never comes.

My only issue with this is that the ARC does not have finished artwork. I'm not sure if that was on purpose, but I did read the "Kindred" graphic novel and I hope that the published work has just as beautiful artwork.

Overall, a terrifying but enjoyable science fiction. Must go read the actual novel now and see what I missed.

Copy provided by NetGalley.

Parable of the Sower is a graphic novel and would be a great introduction for future fans of the genre. I'm personally just getting into graphic novels and am encouraging my students to enjoy the genre for appreciation of both art and storytelling.
I think my students, some of whom are learning English as a second language, would really enjoy this story.
I didn't know the story before but it is an adaptation from a story written in 1993, but feels very now.

The advance copy Netgalley readers received, as mentioned by other reviewers, is somewhat unfinished. If the final illustrations are anything like the gorgeous cover then we're in for a treat.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In Parable of the Sower, Lauren is a preacher’s daughter living in the broken world of the Los Angeles’ suburbs in 2024. Climate change has left the world short of water. The class battle has been fought—and won by the rich. Hope for the future is non-existent. But Lauren has a vision for a new God—a God of change. She feels all mankind is Earthseed, destined to move off the ruined Earth to other planets.

It is amazing that Parable of the Sower feels like it was written yesterday because it is so topical. However, it was originally published more than twenty-five years ago in 1993.

When I started reading, I thought this was a sequel to Kindred, which I loved in graphic novel format by the same author and artist. However, it is a completely different tale of how a religion gets started in a startlingly prescient world of the future. Unfortunately, the art was only done in a rough outline in my advanced review copy so I can’t review it here. But the art in Kindred was beautiful and evocative. Overall, this a good warning about what the future may hold for our planet. 4 stars!

Thanks to Abrams ComicArts and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

My thanks to Abrams/Abrams ComicArts for a temporary digital edition via NetGalley of the graphic novel adaptation of Olivia E. Butler’s ‘Parable of the Sower’ in exchange for an honest review.

It was adapted by Damian Duffy with art by John Jennings, the team that had previously adapted Butler’s ‘The Kindred’ as a graphic novel.

I had read ‘Parable of the Sower’ last year for the first time and found it a deeply moving novel. Therefore, I welcomed the opportunity to read and review this adaptation expecting that it would be an excellent way to introduce the work to a new generation.

However, I consider the most important aspect of a graphic novel is the art. In this case NetGalley members were presented with a very rough and unfinished work, no coloration and many panels were just very minimal sketches.

Even though there was a disclaimer that it was unfinished I am perplexed as to why the publishers didn’t either wait to closer the publication date or update the NetGalley files when a more polished version was available.

As a result I could initially only review what I saw rather than imagining the finished product. As much as I consider ‘Parable’ to be a dystopian classic and was somewhat familiar with the story having recently read, it was very hard to understand what was going on. Now was that because the source material doesn’t work as a graphic novel or was I overly distracted by the incomplete art? It was hard to judge.

I was also looking forward to reading Nalo Hopkinson’s Introduction but this also was missing from the eARC.

Edit 28 January 2020: While I could only give 2 stars after reading the unfinished ARC, I did download the Kindle sample on the day of publication. This gave me both the opportunity to read Nalo’s moving Introduction and to view 17 pages of the finished artwork, which was excellent. Thus, my amended rating is 4 stars and I hope in the future to purchase my own copy of this important graphic novel adaptation.

1.27.2020
DNF @50 pages

I had tried to read the novel "Kindred" and just couldn't get into the whole concept [I have learned that I love sci-fi to WATCH. To read, not so much]. Then a friend told me about the graphic novel and I tried it and absolutely loved it. So I was really excited that Parable was coming up as a graphic novel ARC.
I have not read the novel Parable of the Sower. I actually didn't really know what this was even about. And once I read a synopsis, I was really excited to dive in. That said, this graphic novel was very disappointing. I like color to my illustrations and there was none. Nada [according to the letter at the beginning of the book, this graphic novel WILL be in color when its published, but that doesn't help the reader right now]. Actually, there were squares that were done in blue ink instead of the black and white and that was even more disconcerting than the black and white sketches. Oh yeah, the illustrations in this graphic novel are mostly sketches and that didn't really translate well. And I found that I am not a fan. At all. It was very difficult to read and the teeny print made it even more difficult. Even when blowing up the screen, the print was minuscule. After 50 pages, I was getting a headache and was done.
I liked the idea of the story and once done, it might really be a great read and I might be tempted to pick up the book again once its published, but if the print is still that tiny, I will have to pass again.

Thank you to NetGalley and ABRAMS/Abrams ComicArts for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Last year I reviewed Duffy's adaptation of Kindred and, although I hadn't read the original book that graphic novel is based on, it made me curious about picking it up in the near future. I had a similar —yet not as good— experience with this one.
However, although I know I received an advanced copy, the unfinished illustrations made it quite difficult for me to follow the narrative thread. I should point out that they were colorless —and sometimes faceless— drafts and, there being so many characters, sometimes it was impossible to fathom who was speaking to whom. Again, I know this is an ARC, but reviewers should at least be able to distinguish one character from another, and I think they should have waited to have
that aspect somewhat deducible before releasing it for review.
Moreover, I felt that the dialogue and overall text was overly simplified to make it a shorter and faster read, I felt there was much information and context missing.
Let's just say I expected something more comprehensive and less unfinished. This time it's a 'meh' for me.

DNF at 36 pages

The graphic novel ARC is verrrry unfinished (the illustrations aren't done and it hasn't been colored), so it feels like a rough draft and I feel like I'm missing half of the things by not having pictures with expressions. Maybe I'll try to find the graphic novel when it releases so I can get the finished version, but I still intend to read the original book.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This just wasn't for me. The story didn't keep my attention.
I was so hoping on liking this one.but I didn't.

I have not read the novel Parable of the Sower. In fact, I've never read an Octavia Butler book. Yet. She is definitely an author I want to read, I just haven't been in the situation to pick one up. That being said, this graphic novel was okay. I like color to my illustrations and there was none. The illustrations in this graphic novel look like sketches and I didn't really like that. I liked the gist of the story and it definitely made me more interested in the novel series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced look into this graphic novel.

I started reading this book 5 times. I didn't make it past page 25. I am sorry.

3 stars

This was a slow start for me and I think it would’ve captured me more if I was reading the physical book rather than the eBook due to it being a graphic novel that is almost comic book like.

The illustrations are powerful, the font is easy to read & the colours are strong.

I wasn’t aware of the original story when I read it but it was easy to follow & dystopian.