Parable of the Sower
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butlerby Octavia Butler
Shares rank 88 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
People recommend it for its powerful, floor-the-reader vision of societal collapse, which many feel captures the broad direction of where things are heading. The main caveat is that it is very bleak.
People recommend it for its powerful, floor-the-reader vision of societal collapse, which many feel captures the broad direction of where things are heading. The main caveat is that it is very bleak.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Powerful emotional impact on readers
“which absolutely floored me”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Captures broad direction of collapse
“Not in getting all the details right but in general vibe and direction.”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains" is set today (2026-08-04)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Very bleak depiction of collapse
“Collapse of society, survival etc. Pretty bleak.”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: End of Year Book Recommendations”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Parable of the Sowerby Octavia ButlerThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“which absolutely floored me”
“Not in getting all the details right but in general vibe and direction.”
“Collapse of society, survival etc. Pretty bleak.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.