Just as thought-provoking as the first book. It's hard not to like a book that gets you thinking and speculating. Beyond the thought nuggets I get to chew on, this sequel really helps to complete the story. The first book felt almost unfinished. While parable of the sower is great on its own, I appreciated the partial closure I got from this addition to the tale. 

Unlike the first book, we get a few journal entries from other characters. This adds depth to the setting and nuance to the relationships between the main characters. It also helped remind me that these journal entries could be biased or even unreliable. I particularly enjoyed the addition of the daughter's pov and her commentary on her mother's work and life. I won't spoil the dynamics, but I have to say that it was unexpected and extremely compelling. Most of the events in this book could probably be described as unexpected and compelling. I even felt a few moments of genuine shock. (Marc... iykyk).

I would recommend this to fans of science fiction and speculation fiction. I plan to continue reading more Butler and hope it's just as good as this.