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For me, it does not really manage to be worth reading in of itself... More or less, what kept me interested in this book was experiencing it as an artifact of its time rather than enjoying it for its own qualities.

In terms of it's own qualities, it starts strong but gradually loses its way as it goes on. You could probably divide the book into 3 "arcs" where the first arc is a 4 star work, the 2nd arc is a 0 star work, and the final arc is a 2 star work. I think most reviews are probably based on the strength of the first arc which has an insane creative energy. Once the first arc wraps, it's clear the book needs to get to a specific ending and it just kind of meanders there in a dull and repetitive way.

Another interesting aspect of this piece is to compare it with cultural artifacts from our own time! In this comparison, somehow both works end up looking bad. Disney/Marvel studios removed a lot of the surreal charm contained within this book creating a more sterile product. On the other hand, Disney's version of the infinity stones saga clearly works better from a dramatic angle and doesn't bombard the viewer with constant exposition (at least to this extent)

I'm mixed on this book.

Let's start with the good: this book does, imo, does what a scifi book should do. It placed all kinds of questions in my mind. My favorite sequence is one where Sam, a sham Buddha, leads another person to true enlightenment somewhat unintentionally. This is such an interesting idea! Sam himself is really interesting in all kinds of ways.

The bad for this book is more or less that it contains a bit of the kind of unthinking transphobia which you might expect from the 60s. Given the current climate where people are attacking power stations to disrupt drag shows, I don't think the book can be recommended in spite of this. Another weakness for the book is that it retains a "religious" kind of feel for the prose. I can understand why this decision was made, but it prevented me from ever being truly immersed in the story.

This is a book that everyone should read, tho it is quite painful to read it.

There are things I know will stick with me from this book.

The first is a tragic cycle, seemingly endless. Young men seeing that everyone is starving insist upon starting a war which the old men tell them is futile. Those young men become old men who tell young men that war is futile. Those old men, if not eventually assassinated by the US government, eventually begin to starve as the entire group is pushed into yet worse reservations again and again.

The second is the figure of General Crook. Imagining himself as some kind of friend to the indians, he is used again and again by the state to gain people's trust and talk them into bad deals. If you don't sell and move onto a reservation where you will starve, you'll lose everything. You must unconditionally surrender or you'll be hanged. Etc etc. I'm sure he was trying to be a man of good will, but it seems very transparent to me that you cannot be a man of good will while in the employ of an expanding empire.

The last is the utter tragedy of the Ghost Dance.

I wish that this had included groups from where I live, but alas it is a history of the west.

This is kind of a begrudging 4* review because while I cannot deny the quality of Butler's art and craft in this novel, it just really truly wasn't for me.

Strong points of this work: the writing, the vision of the future feels very real, hyper-empathy syndrome was an interesting idea because how it plays out in the novel is completely contrary to my expectations.

Weak points of this work: I didn't feel like it offered much besides "Yup, everything is well and truly fucked." There weren't enough points of relief from the general violence and despair of the setting. I think the Earthseed portions of this work were intended to provide that, but I didn't find the religion in the book to be particularly captivating and as a fan of Carl Sagan, I feel like the religion should have appealed to me. It just didn't tho.

The lead is somewhat incomprehensible to me, but it feels like an intentional decision. Perhaps people who create religions can't be understood by normal people like me.