Bloodchildren: Stories by the Octavia E. Butler Scholars

by Nisi Shawl (Editor), Nalo Hopkinson (Introduction), Erik Owomoyela

Eleven original stories by recipients of the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship (2007 through 2012), plus a reprint of "Speech Sounds" by the scholarship's namesake, Octavia E. Butler. This anthology also includes a brief memoir of Butler by her Clarion classmate Vonda N. McIntyre and an introduction by Nalo Hopkinson. Edited by Nisi Shawl and published by Book View Cafe in association with the Carl Brandon Society, the administrator of the Butler Scholarship Fund.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Anthologies, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Nisi Shawl is a founder of the diversity-in-speculative-fiction nonprofit the Carl Brandon Society and serves on the Board of Directors of the Clarion West Writers’ Workshop. Their story collection Filter House was a winner of the 2009 Tiptree/Otherwise Award, and their debut novel, Everfair, was a 2016 Nebula finalist. Shawl edited Bloodchildren: Stories by the Octavia E. Butler Scholars (2013). They coedited Strange Matings: Science Fiction, Feminism, African American Voices, and Octavia E. Butler (2013).

Reviews

[Sherwood Smith]

There were only two stories in this anthology that didn't work for me, three I thought terrific (I still get images from them a week after reading them) and the others I thoroughly enjoyed. One of the two was because horror just isn't my cuppa, and the other had nifty ideas, but the execution never achieved liftoff for me.

But otherwise? A guy whose family constantly hexes him, the worst being grandma who is dead, but that doesn't stop her . . . airship battles over nineteenth century America with monkey airship flyers . . . a story by Octavia Butler about an L.A. when speech is gone . . .enhanced humans and home . . . then three stories I thought were intensely powerful, so brilliantly vivid that a week later, keep popping images up in my head:

"Falling into the Earth," by Shweta Narayan

“Légendaire,” by Kai Ashante Wilson

“The Salt Water African,” by Lisa Bolekaja

Not discussing as it's difficult to avoid spoilers. But I recommend this anthology, and not the least because buying it right now is a donation to the scholarship fund. This offer is open until the anniversary of Octavia E. Butler's birthday in June.

[Barrita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todavía recuerdo la primera vez que leí a Octavia, hace ya varios años. Fue como descubrir un género literario completamente nuevo, a pesar de que todo mundo la seguimos clasificando como sci-fi o SF. No puedo ni imaginar lo que debe significar alguien como ella para toda esa gente a quien más representa, esa gente que tuvo que buscar por años para encontrarse a si misma en las páginas de una obra como las de Butler. Y es hermoso que estos autores y autoras aprovechen y continúen lo que ella empezó, con tan buenas ideas y ejecución.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great anthology! Some truly engaging, intelligent, absorbing short stories. The excellent stories outnumbered those that didn't work for me or felt rough (it was only two really that I didn't get into), and the rest were really good stories. One wonderful aspect of this anthology is the range of tones, modes, story types, and writing styles. And even though they are so varied (maybe because of?) they all work together. My favorites:
"Dancing in the Shadow of the Once" by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
"Re: Christmas, Bainbridge Island" by Dennis Y. Ginoza
"Falling into the Earth" by Shweta Narayan
“The Salt Water African” by Lisa Bolekaja
“Légendaire,” by Kai Ashante Wilson
and Octavia E. Butler's "Speech Sounds".

All these excellent stories on their own would have been worth more than the price tag (a very reasonable $8.01) but by purchasing "Bloodchildren" one also contributes to the Carl Brandon Society's Octavia E. Butler scholarship.

Note: this ebook is only available only until June 22, 2013, Octavia’s birthday. If you think you might enjoy this anthology, help the Carl Brandon Society reach their goal to increase diversity in fields of Science Fiction and buy it before June 22nd. bookviewcafe.com/bookstore/book/blood...

We lose so much as a people when we silence voices. These are great stories from which I've gained much - enjoyment, amazement, wonder. These are stories that remain with me after the reading, stories I have talked about with others and recommended, stories that made me think and took me to new worlds. This is an anthology of great speculative fiction.

[Sunil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloodchildren features stories by writers of color sponsored by a scholarship instituted in Octavia Butler's name, hence their designation as "Octavia E. Butler Scholars." The stories are diverse in voice and character, and, although there were a couple I couldn't get into at all, I felt positively about most of them. "Falling into the Earth," by Shweta Narayan, looks at a relationship that parallels that of Rama and Sita in the Ramayana, for better and for worse. "Impulse," by Mary Elizabeth Burroughs, is little more than a vignette, but the moment in time it describes is intriguing (similarly, "The Runner of n-Vamanam," by Indrapramit Das, is more a character study than a story, but the prose is powerful). "Dancing in the Shadow of the Once," by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, addresses cultural and personal identity, and "Steal the Sky," by Erik Owomoyela, is a fun steampunk adventure with airships and monkeys starring a black man and a Native American woman. My favorite story, the most purely satisfying one, was "/sit," by Jeremy Sim, about a man who finds himself under a hex. The talent among all these authors is evident; even when I didn't like a story, I did appreciate the writing.

[Yi An · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic (heh) collection of short story.
One of my favourites is "Steal the Sky" by Erik Owomoyela. Awesome things about this story include:
- zeppelins
- beaver in a mechanical suit
- writing fantasy discrimination in a way that doesn't dismiss real-life racism

"Falling Into the Earth" by Shweta Narayan and "Legendaire." by Kai Ashante Wilson also really stood out for me.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the craftsmanship here, but I was hoping for more Bloodchild and less fantastical stories. There’s some good stuff here, it just never really jammed my buttons.

“Speech Sounds” is a classic by Butler that highlights the importance of (and shows off her mastery of) communication. “Falling Into the Earth” by Shweta Narayan was a really sweet story of love and the impacts of addiction. “Steal the Sky” is a briskly paced nicely inhabited steampunk weird west tale. “/sit” is not what I was expecting of a story about a hex. Instead, by the end, it’s a rather heartwarming tale of self-acceptance. “The Saltwater African” by Lisa Bolekaja is a brutal bit of body horror.

[Emi Bud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trying to get into Sci-fi and people told me about Olivia Butler. I was pleasantly surprised by this short story. AT first tbh I was annoyed it ended with the climax but I didnt see the payoff... But the longer it went after reading, I realised that actually this was the right decision. It was a haunting narrative with deep social parallels and made me think a lot from another perspective which I enjoyed.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially bought this book because the purchase (only $8.01) supported a good cause (the Octavia E. Butler scholarship). That it might be an okay read was kind of gravy.

Fortunately, it turned out to not only be okay, but to be mostly very good. Like any short story anthology, there are some winner and some duds (and which one you consider to be in each category is likely to vary from person to person). I felt that a few of the stories were exceedingly rough. However, a larger number of the stories were so fresh and original that they inspired that kind of truly excited feeling you get when you come across a whole new literary love. Even when the stories touched on almost-too-well-worn tropes such as a viral apocalypse, they tended to breathe new life into them and offer new perspectives where I had almost started to think there were none still to be found.

I do think that the ordering of the stories could have been better. I feel like the best works were mostly front-loaded, and that that meant that my interest and enjoyment diminished during the parts of the book where it needed the most bolstering or where my attention was most bound to wander.

In most respects, though, this was an excellent read. Combine that with a very moderate price and the money going to a great cause, and you simply can't go wrong.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

several amazing stories in this collection. lots of fun to read and a convincing case for supportig the octavia butler memorial scholarship program!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of eclectic speculative fiction.
Thoroughly recommended - in the fine spirit of Octavia Butler.

[Ukrainian]

Légendaire - Kai Ashante Wilson