Octavia E. Butler

[jsc]

Hi! Are there other Octavia E. Butler fans out there?

She is a rarity in S.F. as she lives in L.A., she is female, and she is Black. She is an alternate voice to many of the writers. Her characters come in many colors but the main ones also speak to the Black and female experience. That was why I started to read her books. While I love SF and have read many authors from EE "Doc." Smith, Azimov and Elison and now Terry Pratchett (with undeniable glee and great laughter), I am glad to feel represented and have characters to identify with that are not male and/or white. One thing about Ms. Butler's books is that she makes you stretch you imagination. She has written some unusual and very original characters. If you want to get surprised try some of her short stories first, Blood Child, is a good place to start!

My favorite book of her's is The Parable of the Sower.
It tells the story of Lauren Olamina struggles to survive in a violent world of 2025 in Los Angeles where civilization has collapsed and on the road to Washington where life is forfit for one wrong move.

 

[padders]

sounds interesting. What is the best book to start with do you think or would you suggest your favourite as the first to read?

 

[jsc]

If one cannot find "Blood Child", which is her short stories in the Library then "Parable of the Sower" is excellent to start with. The others get very complicated and these are a good introduction to her works!

 

[padders]

cool will try. Going to have to read the sequel to the reality dysfunction first though... come on post office deliver it !!!

 

[rde]

If I had to recommend one series to start with, it'd have to be the Xenogenesis trilogy; Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago.
I also really liked the Patternmaster series, but found them to be quite similar. Not "you've read one you've read 'em all" similar, but not as much difference between them as I'd like. Does that make sense?

 

[jsc]

Hello rde!

I also loved the Xenogenesis series! They really stretch the immagination. I loved the way Butler gets inside her characters and builds the stories that way, little by little through the characters' thoughts and emotions.

I do agree about the patternmaster series... Read one.. the rest were very similar... Her characters grew and changes but just a little... not like Xenogenesis.

Most people can easily relate to the "Parable" series...that's why I thought they would be an easy start!

 

[soulsinging]

Hi! Are there other Octavia E. Butler fans out there?

She is a rarity in S.F. as she lives in L.A., she is female, and she is Black. She is an alternate voice to many of the writers. Her characters come in many colors but the main ones also speak to the Black and female experience. That was why I started to read her books. While I love SF and have read many authors from EE "Doc." Smith, Azimov and Elison and now Terry Pratchett (with undeniable glee and great laughter), I am glad to feel represented and have characters to identify with that are not male and/or white. One thing about Ms. Butler's books is that she makes you stretch you imagination. She has written some unusual and very original characters. If you want to get surprised try some of her short stories first, Blood Child, is a good place to start!

My favorite book of her's is The Parable of the Sower.
It tells the story of Lauren Olamina struggles to survive in a violent world of 2025 in Los Angeles where civilization has collapsed and on the road to Washington where life is forfit for one wrong move.

jsc hasn't been seen here for 18 years, which is a shame because I just discovered Octavia Butler and am blown away. I was raving about Parable of the Sower a few weeks ago, and just started the sequel. These books are disturbingly prescient in light of current events.