Bloodchild and fledging...

I loved her writing style and thought her stories very creative. I completely agree, “Bloodchild” could easily have been expanded into a full-length novel. It was fascinating how the author was able to throw us into the middle of this world and make it somewhat comprehensible with a very limited setup.

My favorites are “Bloodchild”, “The Evening and the Morning and the Night” and “Speech Sounds”.

*spoilers below*





I especially liked the interweaving of bits and pieces of various genetic conditions in “The Evening and The Morning and the Night” as the ironic fallout from the cure for cancer.

I hope I enjoy the novels anywhere near as much as I did the short stories.

I enjoyed that book as well, though I skipped the last 'writers craft' story, since I have no desire to be a writer myself.
Just re-read it last month, actually.

What did you think of the stories? I liked Bloodchild (though I really don't like the title of the story), and think the topic/setting/characters would have made a wonderful novel, don't you?
I was itching to know the whole backstory on how humans got into that situation, and how his family got into the 'favored' position they seemed to be in - the history of what happened with his father, etc...

I also really liked "The Evening, the Morning, and the Night" as well. Which was your favorite?

Good to know. Thanks Nick. I will keep an eye out for that one.

I picked up Octavia Butler's short story collection Bloodchild and Other Stories Second Edition this week because that title was readily available at the local bookstore. It has definitely whetted my appetite to read more of her work. I especially enjoyed the afterwards following each story and the two essays on the writer's craft.

The publishers of Kindred are planning a graphic novel on the 30th anniversary of the first publication.

Jim, thanks for the link and the further info.

Carolyn, those both sound fascinating. I'll give them a look.

Another good book of hers is Fledgling - a very different (and non-horror) take on vampires.

Kindred is another good one, also a stand-alone. This one involves recurring time travel of a modern day woman back to her ancestor's past.

No problem. Enjoy. If you look at a listing of her books, "Survivor" & "Wild Seed" are in that series, but I don't feel they really added to the story & kind of stunk. (I hear she hated one of them too & never wanted it republished.) The suggested reading order I gave you is not the published order, but the story's chronological order.

More about her here:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/octa...

Thanks for the recs, Jim. I'll check these out.

I really liked Mind of My Mind, Clay's Ark & Patternmaster read in that order. I didn't care for a lot of her other books. These 3 were great, though.

For those of you familiar with Octavia Butler’s work, what book or books would you recommend for a newcomer?