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steaksauce's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
jeanne_i_d's review against another edition
5.0
Although Octavia Butler admits she hates writing short stories, the stories included here are amazingly perfect. The essay “Positive Obsession” was moving and powerful.
lostinagoodbook's review against another edition
3.0
I really hate to say this but … no bueno. I love Octavia Butler novels like Kindred and the Earthseed novels. I’ve read those fantastic books multiple times. Kindred in fact is part of this collection of stories by Ms. Butler and I fully recommend that wonderful book.
In Kindred, Dana, a Black woman whose husband is white, is pulled back and forth between the California present and the pre–Civil War South, where she finds herself enslaved on the plantation of a white ancestor whose life she must save in order to preserve her own. Gripping and suspenseful, the novel uses the conceit of time travel to plumb the mutilating structures of slavery and the terrible cost they continue to exact. – Goodreads
However, the first story in this collection turned me off so bad I quit reading and put it in my DNF.
A woman wakes up covered in burns in a mountainside cave with no knowledge of who she is or what has happened to her. In time she discovers that she is a vampire, and that there are others like her. Among the long-lived Ina, though, Shori is something new: an experimental birth, containing African American human DNA that gives her brown skin and the feared and fearful ability to go out in sunlight. Part murder mystery, part fantasy thriller, Fledgling is Butler’s incomparable take on the vampire novel. – Goodreads
Sounds good right? Admittedly, I’m not a big vampire fan. For some reason the whole thing with vampires just kind of skeeves me out, but this story really turned me off. The “woman” in this story actually lives in the body of a child. I think she looks like a pre-teen. When I got to the part where she seduces and has a sex scene with a grown man who is attracted to her youthful looks I had to let this one go. I’m sure Ms. Butler had things she was trying to say, but I’m not interested in sticking around to find out. This is just not for me.
It’s unfortunate, and I probably should have gone on to look at more of the other stories included in the collection, but that story left a bad tasted in my mouth and once I DNF I try not to look back. But please, by all means read Kindred. It does not disappoint.
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley
In Kindred, Dana, a Black woman whose husband is white, is pulled back and forth between the California present and the pre–Civil War South, where she finds herself enslaved on the plantation of a white ancestor whose life she must save in order to preserve her own. Gripping and suspenseful, the novel uses the conceit of time travel to plumb the mutilating structures of slavery and the terrible cost they continue to exact. – Goodreads
However, the first story in this collection turned me off so bad I quit reading and put it in my DNF.
A woman wakes up covered in burns in a mountainside cave with no knowledge of who she is or what has happened to her. In time she discovers that she is a vampire, and that there are others like her. Among the long-lived Ina, though, Shori is something new: an experimental birth, containing African American human DNA that gives her brown skin and the feared and fearful ability to go out in sunlight. Part murder mystery, part fantasy thriller, Fledgling is Butler’s incomparable take on the vampire novel. – Goodreads
Sounds good right? Admittedly, I’m not a big vampire fan. For some reason the whole thing with vampires just kind of skeeves me out, but this story really turned me off. The “woman” in this story actually lives in the body of a child. I think she looks like a pre-teen. When I got to the part where she seduces and has a sex scene with a grown man who is attracted to her youthful looks I had to let this one go. I’m sure Ms. Butler had things she was trying to say, but I’m not interested in sticking around to find out. This is just not for me.
It’s unfortunate, and I probably should have gone on to look at more of the other stories included in the collection, but that story left a bad tasted in my mouth and once I DNF I try not to look back. But please, by all means read Kindred. It does not disappoint.
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley
sushmitachowdhury's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorite reads so far this year. I loved every single piece: I loved both the novels, all the short stories, and the thoughtful essays. I can’t remember the last time a book made me feel this way. I will definitely be reading more from this amazing author.
marilynw's review against another edition
4.0
Octavia E. Butler: Kindred, Fledgling, Collected Stories by Octavia E. Butler
It was after I read a review for Butler's story Kindred, that I found that I could read this book with several of Butler's novels, short stories, and essays. I was especially drawn to Kindred, the story of a black woman in 1974, who is whisked back to the early 1800s, whenever one of her white ancestors is in dire danger. After two such trips back in time, the third time Dana's white husband is pulled back in time with her, making things safer for Dana since now she has a white "overseer". Dana has to make sure some of the atrocities that happened to her ancestors happen again. If things don't happen as before, many people in the time onward won't exist.
It's a very cruel situation and all Dana can do is try to change the attitude of her white ancestor, hoping to insert compassion and empathy into his already hardened and corrupted heart. We are there in the lives of the black slaves and free black people, people who can lose that freedom at the drop of a hat or the whim of a cruel white slave owner. This was my favorite story that I read in this book although it was strange reading something written in 1974, knowing that the wording would be different, if written in today's times.
Fledgling is the story of a young black woman with amnesia. She discovers that she is a vampire and she's not alone. Because of her dark skin, she is able to be outside in the daylight so this gives us one of many new takes on vampire stories. This is only my second vampire story so I don't have much to compare it to but it's obvious that Shori and her black kind are unique in the world of vampires.
All of Butler's work is interesting and this book led me to learn more about her through research of her history. Much of the work drew me in because I enjoy Sci Fi. Butler did a great job with this genre.
Publication date: January 19, 2021
Thank you to Library of America and NetGalley for this ARC.
It was after I read a review for Butler's story Kindred, that I found that I could read this book with several of Butler's novels, short stories, and essays. I was especially drawn to Kindred, the story of a black woman in 1974, who is whisked back to the early 1800s, whenever one of her white ancestors is in dire danger. After two such trips back in time, the third time Dana's white husband is pulled back in time with her, making things safer for Dana since now she has a white "overseer". Dana has to make sure some of the atrocities that happened to her ancestors happen again. If things don't happen as before, many people in the time onward won't exist.
It's a very cruel situation and all Dana can do is try to change the attitude of her white ancestor, hoping to insert compassion and empathy into his already hardened and corrupted heart. We are there in the lives of the black slaves and free black people, people who can lose that freedom at the drop of a hat or the whim of a cruel white slave owner. This was my favorite story that I read in this book although it was strange reading something written in 1974, knowing that the wording would be different, if written in today's times.
Fledgling is the story of a young black woman with amnesia. She discovers that she is a vampire and she's not alone. Because of her dark skin, she is able to be outside in the daylight so this gives us one of many new takes on vampire stories. This is only my second vampire story so I don't have much to compare it to but it's obvious that Shori and her black kind are unique in the world of vampires.
All of Butler's work is interesting and this book led me to learn more about her through research of her history. Much of the work drew me in because I enjoy Sci Fi. Butler did a great job with this genre.
Publication date: January 19, 2021
Thank you to Library of America and NetGalley for this ARC.
jamesbullinger's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked both novels in this collection and I LOVED the short stories. They were so weird.
sausome's review against another edition
5.0
This was an excellent collection of Octavia Butler works (see table of contents at the end of this review) and perfect for long time fans and readers new to Butler. Prior to reading this collection, I had only read "Parable of the Sower," though "Kindred" had long been on my TBR shelf. I felt as though I read the full range of Butler in this collection. I'll leave my full reviews of "Kindred" and "Fledgling" with their respective full titles, but know that both are masterful explorations of race, gender, and power dynamics with elements of science fiction. "Kindred" involves mysterious time travel, and "Fledgling" involves vampires. The short stories are all wonderful, and each felt like they were seedlings for full blown novels. I am in awe of Butler's creative and imaginative mind, from alien creatures to post-apocalyptic worlds to stories of cultural heritage and family and mind reading. And the essays were the icing on the cake! Reading the collection in exactly the order presented was absolutely PERFECT, and the essays brought full illumination to Butler's mind and interior workings. She actually mentions in one essay that short stories were always her least favorite to write, finding them difficult to separate from novel projects. She also provides "afterword" for each of the stories, further illuminating where the idea sparked from or what the story was actually about, not leaving it to critics to find something that might not be there. From her autobiographical essay, we learn that Butler has always been painfully shy, finding it difficult to gain a foothold in the world. She also struggled with writer's block at varying parts of her life, and poverty, working odd jobs to piece together a survival. The book is a must read for any fan of Science Fiction - her essay on race in the genre was brilliant! Especially in today's world of continued racial issues and the book world movement to bring writer's of color and diverse voices to the publishing world en masse. Her mind was such a powerhouse, and I feel so lucky to have been able to read this wonderful collection.
Titles included in this collection --
NOVELS:
Kindred
Fledgling
COLLECTED STORIES:
Childfinder
Crossover
Near of Kin Speech Sounds
Bloodchild
The Evening and the Morning and the Night
Amnesty
The Book of Martha
ESSAYS:
Lost Races of Science Fiction
Furor Scribendi
The Monophobic Response
Preface to Bloodchild and Other Stories
Titles included in this collection --
NOVELS:
Kindred
Fledgling
COLLECTED STORIES:
Childfinder
Crossover
Near of Kin Speech Sounds
Bloodchild
The Evening and the Morning and the Night
Amnesty
The Book of Martha
ESSAYS:
Lost Races of Science Fiction
Furor Scribendi
The Monophobic Response
Preface to Bloodchild and Other Stories
donnabelieves's review against another edition
Finished Kindred. Next up, Fledgling.
anjaliiiiiii's review against another edition
I LOVED reading Kindred, but the rest of the book was not as enjoyable to me…. it was especially hard to get through Fledgling.
lematthew00's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5