Fledgling

by Octavia E. Butler

Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of 'otherness' and questions what it means to be truly human. The first science-fiction novelist to be awarded the MacArthur Fellowship Genius Grant and 'grand dame of science fiction', Octavia E. Butler will captivate fans of Colson Whitehead, Neil Gaiman and Ayobami Adebayo's Stay With Me.

'[Her] evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human' New York Times

'A master storyteller, Butler casts an unflinching eye on racism, sexism, poverty and ignorance and lets the reader see the terror and beauty of human nature' The Washington Post

Shori wakes up in wilderness with extensive injuries and no memories. As she recovers, the realisation that she has very unhuman needs and abilities leads to a shocking conclusion: Shori is a 53-year-old vampire.


To have a future, she must unravel her past ... because the people that nearly killed her haven't given up.

What readers are saying about FLEDGLING:

'An amazingly evocative book. The story stays with you long after reading'

'Such a fascinating story. Butler is a very keen observer of human nature'

'An innovative insight into what it is to be alive and how to become our best selves'

• ISBN10: 0446696161
• ISBN13: 9780446696166
• Publish Date: 1 January 2007
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Time Warner Trade Publishing
• Imprint: Warner Books Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

I really wish I had read the review for this first, because I think I would have started with ANY OTHER Octavia Butler first. Would I have read it knowing that there's nothing pseudo about the pedophilia in this story. Nah, would have been a hard pass. I don't mind dark topics, but I'm not a fan of sex scenes with minors. It's too freaking disturbing for me.

Everything else about this was incredible though - the writing, plot, politics, characters, social issues, and settings - I freaking loved it all.

It's definitely a story that will stick with me and really make me think, and I am definitely interested in reading more of Ms. Butler's work.

[nannah]

DNF @ 9%
Nope!! Nope, no, nooope, I can't do this, sorry.

Pedophilia discussion warning:

I don't care if she's really a 53yo vampire, the protagonist is in the body of a prepubescent child and having sex with a dude just out of university. Even if she really was 53, she's still having sex with a dude just out of university. Both are bad, but obviously the first, and what we have, is worse.

It's just too much for me, and I'm out. I know it's written to freak me out, but I'm not here for it.

[empressbrooke]

After having devoured [b:Kindred|60931|Kindred|Octavia E. Butler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1339423248s/60931.jpg|1049657] in a single sitting, I was really looking forward to Octavia Butler's other stand-alone novel. But, ehhhh...it's pretty much at the opposite end of the awesomeness spectrum. It's essentially an endless cycle of comments about people smelling good, biting and "lapping" (there is a lot of lapping), and lots and lots of explaining.

The premise is that a member of a vampiric race wakes up with amnesia and has to figure out who murdered her family. However, the amnesia aspect leads to endless infodumps about the vampires' culture, history, mythology, and sociology. What could have been really awesome world building was instead wasted on a bunch of people standing around telling the main character about it.