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This book definitely felt like a bridge to what could have been the next in a whole series. In fact I wonder if what was put in the epilogue traces the overarching plot of what could have been. I really would have liked to see a conversation between Olamina's space colonization desires with her daughter's view of "let's make sure we've figured out how to live on Earth in peace before we head to the stars."

This book does seem to put a cap on the 'Pox that treats it as just a stumbling block in the world's progress, but I would like to have heard Butler's answer to the question of "now that we've overcome our greatest trials, how do we move forward?" I guess what I'm asking for is more spiritual and philosophical introspection, but the narrative stays pretty focused on events.

I can see how the author was able to take what was happening in America (esp. toward the black community) in the early 1990s and extrapolating it out into the near future. But damn, she really nailed it.

The story was thrilling and poses a powerful question - in a world where empathy deteriorates day by day, what is your response? How do we protect our sense of humanity when everyone is out for themselves?

Carlo Ginzburg: Ecstasies (2004, University Of Chicago Press) 5 stars Some good research on ecstatic ceremonies that survived from pre-Christian times into the medieval era in Italy, but then the author goes off the rails and tries to link what little we know about these celtic, pre-Christian religions to the Campbell-istic/Jungian hero's journey BS