Lauren Olamina, a young woman with the power of hyper empathy (feeling the pain and pleasure of others) lives in a gated community safe for now from the apocalyptic hellscape outside the walls. A preacher’s daughter, she is raised to believe in strict Baptist teachings, she rejects them in favor of creating her own religion called Earthseed. But when her community falls and her family is killed; she is cast into the wilderness and forced to survive on her own.
For a world basically burning itself out, the color palette is perfect. Lauren is a practical character, very aware of the dangers surrounding her but at the same time, she is so deadpan. When the action amps up, she shows plenty of emotion but in the downtime, she is very reserved. Understandable given she feels other’s pain, she would want to keep in control but it’s not fun to look at for pages on end. In a novel that hits different but when you get art involved, it’s boring to the eye.
Overall, I like the story. I’d actually like to great the novel since the graphic novel does such a good job bringing the world to life. Also, I picked a crappy time to read more dystopian fiction. 3.9 out of 5.
