Wow, I have long been a fan of Butler but this article was fabulous. The Parable books were good, but the special thing about Butler’s writing is how each series is as different from her other works as her work is different from all he rest of science fiction. It is a rich rich source of interesting ideas that expand your conceptual space. Xenogenesis, DNA traders save the remnants of humanity; Patternist: psychic battles and diseases that improve us at the cost of our humanity; Kindred, the shocking intersection between slave times and now; Wild Seed, life as someone that can shape shift and lives thousands of years; Flesgling, a weirdly sexy albino vampire overturns the vampire hierarchies; and so many short stories that leave you going “whoa.”

So don’t stop with the Parables, if you like expanding your conceptual space.