Bloodchild and Other Stories is the only collection of science fiction stories and essays written by American writer Octavia E. Butler. Each story and essay features an afterword by Butler. "Bloodchild", the title story, won the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. Originally published in 1995, the 2005 expanded edition contains two additional stories: "Amnesty" and "The Book of Martha".
Octavia: "I hate writing short stories."
Proceeds to drop some of the best speculative short fiction ever written
Ich komme in Kurzgeschichtensammlungen meistens nicht über die erste Geschichte hinaus. Hier ging es aber problemlos. Am Ende jeder Geschichte gibt es ein paar Erklärungen der Autorin zu ihrer Arbeit.
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.
I've only read the first three stories so far but even if the rest of the book is duds, I still recommend it. The stories are creepy - which I personally like but you might not -, but their thought-provoking and fascinating
Bloodchild and other stories is a great collection of vastly different short stories. It's a bit of a mixed bag though, some are great while others are mediocre and uninteresting. The main story of the collection, Bloodchild, is definitely the best one. I can't help but feel putting it as the first story was a bad move as it sets up high expectations for the stories to come.
Olivia Butler had been described to me as a sci-fi writer, and I don’t like sci-if, but these stories are terrific and thought-provoking. I can’t wait to discuss them with my book club.
I’ve been on such a lengthy and satisfying short story kick, I was delighted when a lovely friend told me that Octavia Butler had published her own collection of short stories. I picked up a copy straight away and enjoyed it from cover to cover – and not just the stories, but how Butler took a moment at the end of each of them to reflect on them with brief afterwards. There is some seriously visionary content happening in these stories – even more so when you realize most were written in the late 70s and 80s and are reminded how little today is actually original. Apologies to Ms Butler if this offends the ghost of a brilliant novelist, but I would happily watch TV series based on “Bloodchild,” “The Evening and the Morning and the Night,” “Speechsounds,” or “Amnesty.” Actually, I just want more of “The Evening and the …
I’ve been on such a lengthy and satisfying short story kick, I was delighted when a lovely friend told me that Octavia Butler had published her own collection of short stories. I picked up a copy straight away and enjoyed it from cover to cover – and not just the stories, but how Butler took a moment at the end of each of them to reflect on them with brief afterwards. There is some seriously visionary content happening in these stories – even more so when you realize most were written in the late 70s and 80s and are reminded how little today is actually original. Apologies to Ms Butler if this offends the ghost of a brilliant novelist, but I would happily watch TV series based on “Bloodchild,” “The Evening and the Morning and the Night,” “Speechsounds,” or “Amnesty.” Actually, I just want more of “The Evening and the Morning and the Night” and “Amnesty” in any form. I also particularly appreciated “Positive Obsession” and “Furor Scribendi,” one an autobiographical essay about Butler determination to become a professional writer, the other an essay about the challenges of writing and six rules for new or struggling writers, which boil down to one radiant piece of guidance for so many dreams: Persist.
My first Octavia Butler. I didn't love everything in her but make it morning breaking clear how brilliant she is. Eager to read more.
I'm late to the party; I understand this. Previously, I'd only been familiar with Bloodchild, which I'd enjoyed. I was wrong. She was so, so much better than I imagined.
I originally got interested in mythology, fantasy and science fiction because it allowed me to enter a space that was new and mysterious. Octavia Butler unlocks that very same door and turns me, at half-a-century back into a wide-eyed youth again. There are astonishing layers to her narrative, which, by their own merit, are first rate. This anthology of short stories is a bite-sized snack, a quick read by any bibliophile in front of a roaring fire on a fall evening. Looking forward to diving into everything she's ever written now.
First two were excellent pre-halloween reading. author's afterwords to each story are lovely.
