Ratings53
Average rating4.3
A collection of short stories by a celebrated African American female science fiction author includes the award-winning title story, "Bloodchild," a parable about the treatment of women throughout history
Reviews with the most likes.
Wow, this was amazing. And rough - really emotionally hard, because she is so good at evoking empathy in morally gray situations. Scratch that - Butler is so good at taking situations we tend to think of as morally black and white and evoking empathy to force the reader into the uncomfortable position of realizing their grayness.
I thought “Bloodchild” was a magnificent story, I was touched and shocked and completely drawn in to “Speech Sounds.” But by the time I was partway through “Amnesty,” I had to take a break to collect myself. It's a very brutal story - and I say that with admiration. Incredibly inventive and skillful, just dealing with harrowing subject matter.
I'm glad I forged on and finished though! It's easy to see how Butler became a preeminent name in science fiction - she has an astonishing ability to imagine novel situations and poignantly explore the real human issues they give rise to.
I've only read another book by Octavia Butler (Kindred), and that was the graphic novel adaptation. Now I'm angry at myself for not picking up this book first. Butler was a genius. She truly was. Her stories show such great mastery of the craft of writing. She was one of a kind, and truly deserves more recognition. If this collection of short stories is just a tiny piece of her work, I'm quite sure her novels will be even more fantastic!
Space beasties love us
so warm-blooded and tasty
just let them squeeze you.
Featured Series
2 primary booksEarthseed is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 1984 with contributions by Octavia E. Butler and Octavia E. Butler.