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awkwardturtledoo t1_jcr7g95 wrote

Reply to comment by Express_Papaya_5221 in Lauren Oya Olamina from Octavia E. Butler’s “Parable of the Sower/Talents” - is she a Mary Sue? by Pink_Blue1214

Off topic from the original post, but I also just recently read it because of how highly praised it was on this sub, and I was a bit disappointed as well. It’s remarkably prescient and I love the world Butler created, but I had a problem with the lack of personality and nuance in the characters. Maybe the second one adds a bit more depth that really enhances the story, but I don’t think I’ll be tackling it soon at least.

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Pink_Blue1214 OP t1_jcr7qek wrote

I read the second one because I wanted to see what happened, or because I particularly cared about Lauren Nothing really happened to change my opinion of her in the sequel

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awkwardturtledoo t1_jcr9wci wrote

As far as Lauren goes, I can see why the students see her as a Mary Sue. She seems to have all the right answers most of the time, and I don’t think she was challenged enough. I think if the character (his name escapes me) who was very critical of her Earthseed ideas had pushed it a bit more and maybe even defected, it would have made the story and Lauren a bit more compelling. On her hyperempathy ability, I honestly kept forgetting she had it. I wanted to learn more about it and see it develop into more than just a problem Lauren/the group has to deal with as they travel/now defend their territory.

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cordelaine t1_jcr87d4 wrote

Yeah, I struggled through the first and DNF’ed the second.

I read Kindred a few months later and loved it. Haven’t read anything else by her yet.

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georgealice t1_jcrp1dk wrote

Wild Seed is amazing but I didn’t care for any of the rest of the Patternist series

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