rebeccaloosli's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Some of the most imaginative short stories ever. Each one was strange and challenged my own ideas and preconceptions. My mind feels expanded after reading this. Butler is brilliant and this book is a fantastic introduction to her. In addition to short stories, this collection included afterwards written by her as well as essays she wrote about being a writer.
schuabi's review
4.5
All the stories were fascinating in their own rights, and the perfect lengths to keep interest. I particularly enjoyed the afterwards to each, as while the stories were thought provoking, I can appreciate a collection that doesn’t force you to do all the analysis yourself. I could have gone without the two essays which felt misplaced and kind of boring in comparison to the work surrounding them. That being said, Octavia Butler is clearly a brilliant writer full of incredible ideas and I cannot wait to read more of her work.
treyhunner's review
5.0
Before this, I'd only read longer novels by Octavia Butler.
These short stories were great. A couple were more gruesome than I expected and each was set in its own interesting reality.
The audiobook was short (each story was very short) and I really enjoyed listening to these stories.
These short stories were great. A couple were more gruesome than I expected and each was set in its own interesting reality.
The audiobook was short (each story was very short) and I really enjoyed listening to these stories.
florapatricia's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
inthebelljar's review
4.0
I generally have trouble reviewing short story collections, even ones where it is all from one author, just because there can be so much range between them--so, I'm going to try to say what I thought in general about Butler's short stories.
Octavia E. Butler is a masterful storyteller. I read her fiction for my speculative fiction by authors of color course and have been absolutely fascinated since. They are interesting and they are very disturbing. They are unique and imaginative. I absolutely admire and love her works that feature alien species because of how well-written they are. One of my biggest complaints of science fiction stories featuring aliens is either 1) the aliens feel unnecessarily cruel and unsympathetic for simply being alien or 2) they're just blue or green or purple humans. Butler's aliens are neither of these things. They are complex and sympathetic and antagonistic and...alien. They aren't inherently bad or good, they are *different*. Sometimes this means they clash with humans, sometimes this means they can bond with humans in new ways. I really love it.
Her stories can definitely be upsetting, however, and they are grim; but they also make you think. I don't have the book on me anymore as it was a library copy, but I definitely recommend looking up content warnings. I also really recommend Butler's work because of how beautiful and intriguing and dark and disturbing it is.
Octavia E. Butler is a masterful storyteller. I read her fiction for my speculative fiction by authors of color course and have been absolutely fascinated since. They are interesting and they are very disturbing. They are unique and imaginative. I absolutely admire and love her works that feature alien species because of how well-written they are. One of my biggest complaints of science fiction stories featuring aliens is either 1) the aliens feel unnecessarily cruel and unsympathetic for simply being alien or 2) they're just blue or green or purple humans. Butler's aliens are neither of these things. They are complex and sympathetic and antagonistic and...alien. They aren't inherently bad or good, they are *different*. Sometimes this means they clash with humans, sometimes this means they can bond with humans in new ways. I really love it.
Her stories can definitely be upsetting, however, and they are grim; but they also make you think. I don't have the book on me anymore as it was a library copy, but I definitely recommend looking up content warnings. I also really recommend Butler's work because of how beautiful and intriguing and dark and disturbing it is.
nicirvine19's review
dark
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
curiously_curious's review against another edition
1.0
Blood child - the main story that this collection surrounds. It's a interesting idea a communion between aliens and humans with aliens using us as their parasitic pregnancy cattle WILLINGLY. because we are refuges who fled to their planet. But the writing is poor and sloppy. It's amateurish in my opinion. Time and time again the writing pulled me out and I only read it to find out how she ended it. The Futher I went in the more sloppy the writing became. It seems as though this is a collection of rushed and unedited stories.
jiyoung's review against another edition
5.0
Butler at some of her most succinct and profound. Loved this collection of short stories and essays.
Bloodchild (5 out of 5): Didn't love at first. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it after reading; its cleverness hit me like a boomerang. Imagine being host to a parasite that sucks nutrients from your body and potentially multiplies within you. It will kill you unless extracted violently from your organs. Men regularly perish from this, yet many submit to it for protection offered by the adult parasites. Pregnancy sounds like a sci-fi horror story when it happens to men, doesn’t it?
The Evening and the Morning and the Night (5 out of 5): This story looked at patients with rare genetic disorders and how mistreated they are by both the medical and broader community, simply because of human ignorance re: the disease. Some interesting subversion of gender roles in authority, but also themes on agency (if our decisions are just neurochemicals firing in our brains, at what point do different chemicals cause us to lose our agency?).
Next of Kin (2 out of 5): Did not like this one, but it’s short. Butler often writes about incest but this story felt meh, just the less common “sympathetic” take.
Speech Sounds (5 out of 5): I love it when the author shows rather than tells, and Butler started this story perfectly. I liked that she didn’t reveal the context until midway through, at which point it’s already slowly dawning on the reader what the world is. The ending was a gut punch.
Crossover (3 out of 5): A short look at a working class woman's struggle with substance abuse and mental health.
Positive Obsession and Furor Scribendi (4 out of 5): Short essays on Butler's views on and struggles with writing. Nothing ground-breaking here but both pieces shine with wisdom and humility. It makes me admire her even more.
Amnesty (5 out of 5): I love a solid cohabitation with aliens thought experiment. Butler avoids the tired trap of making her aliens too humanoid (or Earth animal-based), instead reimagining collective living organisms with vastly different concepts, language, and desires. Human fear and xenophobia are the real enemies.
The Book of Martha (5 out of 5): At first I was worried about the hackneyed "meeting God" trope but this one unfurled into something thought-provoking and not preachy (surprising for an attempt to build a utopia).
Bloodchild (5 out of 5): Didn't love at first. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it after reading; its cleverness hit me like a boomerang. Imagine being host to a parasite that sucks nutrients from your body and potentially multiplies within you. It will kill you unless extracted violently from your organs. Men regularly perish from this, yet many submit to it for protection offered by the adult parasites. Pregnancy sounds like a sci-fi horror story when it happens to men, doesn’t it?
The Evening and the Morning and the Night (5 out of 5): This story looked at patients with rare genetic disorders and how mistreated they are by both the medical and broader community, simply because of human ignorance re: the disease. Some interesting subversion of gender roles in authority, but also themes on agency (if our decisions are just neurochemicals firing in our brains, at what point do different chemicals cause us to lose our agency?).
Next of Kin (2 out of 5): Did not like this one, but it’s short. Butler often writes about incest but this story felt meh, just the less common “sympathetic” take.
Speech Sounds (5 out of 5): I love it when the author shows rather than tells, and Butler started this story perfectly. I liked that she didn’t reveal the context until midway through, at which point it’s already slowly dawning on the reader what the world is. The ending was a gut punch.
Crossover (3 out of 5): A short look at a working class woman's struggle with substance abuse and mental health.
Positive Obsession and Furor Scribendi (4 out of 5): Short essays on Butler's views on and struggles with writing. Nothing ground-breaking here but both pieces shine with wisdom and humility. It makes me admire her even more.
Amnesty (5 out of 5): I love a solid cohabitation with aliens thought experiment. Butler avoids the tired trap of making her aliens too humanoid (or Earth animal-based), instead reimagining collective living organisms with vastly different concepts, language, and desires. Human fear and xenophobia are the real enemies.
The Book of Martha (5 out of 5): At first I was worried about the hackneyed "meeting God" trope but this one unfurled into something thought-provoking and not preachy (surprising for an attempt to build a utopia).
paisley2k's review
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25