Octavia E. Butler Books

An original and eerily prophetic writer, Octavia E. Butler used science fiction to explore the dangerous legacy of racism in America through deeply personal narratives. She broke new ground with complex Black female protagonists, stating, "I wrote myself in," and established herself as a pioneer of the Afrofuturist aesthetic. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, recognizing her contributions to the genre and American literature. This volume in the Library of America edition of Butler's collected works includes her 1979 masterpiece, Kindred, her final novel, Fledgling, and her collected short stories. In Kindred, Dana, a Black woman married to a white man, is transported between contemporary California and the pre-Civil War South, where she finds herself enslaved on her white ancestor's plantation. The gripping narrative uses time travel to explore the devastating structures of slavery and their enduring impact. Fledgling begins with a woman awakening in a cave, covered in burns and with no memory of her identity. She discovers she is a vampire, part of a group known as the Ina, but uniquely possesses African American DNA, granting her brown skin and the ability to withstand sunlight. This novel combines elements of murder mystery and fantasy thriller, showcasing Butler's unique take on the vampire genre. The volume also features eight short stories, five essays—including tw

A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award. Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself? Like all of Octavia Butler’s best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature’s strongest voices.

In order for me to understand who I am, I must begin to understand who she was. Asha was born into a broken world. There are many things she needs to know: how her country could embrace a violent, far-right President promising to make America great again, why they turned a blind eye to the suffering - and the truth about her mother. In her journals, Lauren Olamina tells of a great love divided between her young daughter, her community and the revelation that led her to found a new faith that teaches 'God Is Change'. But under a tyrannical religious regime who consider the mere existence of a black female leader a threat, Lauren knows she must soon either sacrifice her daughter and her followers - or forsake the beliefs that could transform human destiny.

A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award. Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself?Like all of Octavia Butler’s best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature’s strongest voices.BloodchildThe evening and the morning and the nightNear of kinSpeech soundsCrossoverPositive obsessionFuror scribendiAmnestyThe Book of Martha

The acclaimed trilogy that comprises LILITH'S BROOD is multiple Hugo and Nebula award-winner Octavia E. Butler at her best. Presented for the first time in one volume, with an introduction by Joan Slonczewski, Ph.D., LILITH'S BROOD is a profoundly evocative, sensual -- and disturbing -- epic of human transformation. Lilith Iyapo is in the Andes, mourning the death of her family, when war destroys Earth. Centuries later, she is resurrected -- by miraculously powerful unearthly beings, the Oankali. Driven by an irresistible need to heal others, the Oankali are rescuing our dying planet by merging genetically with mankind. But Lilith and all humanity must now share the world with uncanny, unimaginably alien creatures: their own children. This is their story...

A New York Times 6 New Paperbacks to Read This Week A Los Angeles Daily News 25 Must Read Best Books of 2023 A Ms Magazine September 2023 Reads For The Rest of Us "The impression left by The Last Interview is of an indomitable woman who made her way through persistence and diligence." -- Dave Luhrssen of the The Shepherd Express “I write about people who do extraordinary things. It just turned out that it was called science fiction.” - Octavia E. Butler Octavia E. Butler's work broke innumerable barriers and helped open the field of science fiction to writers and readers it had never had before. As the first Black writer to win the coveted Nebula and Hugo Awards, her courage and vision left a peerless legacy for fans not just of science fiction, but of American literature. In this collection of 10 interviews, 3 of them never published, Butler speaks with candor and openness about her work, her imaginative mission, and the barriers she faced as a Black woman working in a genre dominated by white men. The book features an original introduction by science fiction legend Samuel R. Delany, in which he discusses his personal relation with Butler, providing unparalleled insight into her work and life.

On her 26th birthday, Dana and her husband are moving into their apartment when she starts to feel dizzy. She falls to her knees, nauseous. Then the world falls away. She finds herself at the edge of a green wood by a vast river. A child is screaming. Wading into the water, she pulls him to safety, only to find herself face to face with a very old looking rifle, in the hands of the boy's father. She's terrified. The next thing she knows she's back in her apartment, soaking wet. It's the most terrifying experience of her life ...until it happens again

From the critically acclaimed and award-winning author comes the stunning story of telepathically sensitive Mary and her fight to free herself and her people from an immortal being who uses them for their bodies. In this stunning Book Two of the Patternist series, the human race is ready to break free and win their freedom. For 4,000 years, an immortal has spread the seeds of a master race, using the downtrodden as his private breeding stock. But now a young ghetto telepath has found a way to awaken--and rule--her superhuman kind, igniting a psychic battle as she challenges her creator for her right to free her people.

Now, for the first time, the best of the Locus Awards for short fiction are gathered in one volume. Spanning the absolute finest in science fiction and fantasy short fiction for the last thirty years, this anthology is an indispensable guide to speculative fiction from the classic to the outrageous by the leaders of the field. Contents: The Death of Doctor Island by Gene Wolfe The Day Before the Revolution by Ursula K. Le Guin Jeffty is Five by Harlan Ellison The Persistence of Vision by John Varley The Way of Cross and Dragon by George R.R. Martin Souls by Joanna Russ Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler The Only Neat Thing to Do by James Tiptree, Jr. Rachel in Love by Pat Murphy The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard Bears Discover Fire by Terry Bisson Buffalo by John Kessel Even the Queen by Connie Willis Gone by John Crowley Maneki Neko by Bruce Sterling Border Guards by Greg Egan Hell Is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang October in the Chair by Neil Gaiman

"Jodahs is a child of the Earth and stars, born from the union between humans and the Oankali, who saved humanity from destruction centuries before. But Jodahs is approaching adulthood, a metamorphosis that will take him beyond gender and family, and into a great but dangerous unknown. Frightened and alone, Jodahs must come to terms with this new identity, learn to master lifechanging powers and bring together what's left of humankind - or become the biggest threat to their survival."--Back cover

"Lilith’s son Akin looks like an ordinary child. His family live together on Earth, but not in complete peace. The Oankali saved humanity years before, compelled by the desire to create an extraordinary new race of children. But there are those who resist the Oankali and the salvation they offer. The first of his kind, Akin is more powerful than any other being. He understands the desire to fight for the independence of humanity. He also fears that, if left alone, humanity will destroy itself again. And when young Akin is stolen from Lilith and their hybrid family, he soon faces an impossible choice. But first he must reconcile with his own heritage in a world already torn in two."--Back cover

In an "epic, game-changing, moving and brilliant" story of love and hate, two immortals chase each other across continents and centuries, binding their fates together -- and changing the destiny of the human race (Viola Davis). Doro knows no higher authority than himself. An ancient spirit with boundless powers, he possesses humans, killing without remorse as he jumps from body to body to sustain his own life. With a lonely eternity ahead of him, Doro breeds supernaturally gifted humans into empires that obey his every desire. He fears no one -- until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu is an entity like Doro and yet different. She can heal with a bite and transform her own body, mending injuries and reversing aging. She uses her powers to cure her neighbors and birth entire tribes, surrounding herself with kindred who both fear and respect her. No one poses a true threat to Anyanwu -- until she meets Doro. The moment Doro meets Anyanwu, he covets her; and from the villages of 17th-century Nigeria to 19th-century United States, their courtship becomes a power struggle that echoes through generations, irrevocably changing what it means to be human.

One woman is called upon to reconstruct humanity in this hopeful, thought-provoking novel by the bestselling, award-winning author. For readers of Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Ursula K. Le Guin. When Lilith lyapo wakes in a small white room with no doors or windows, she remembers a devastating war, and a husband and child long lost to her. She finds herself living among the Oankali, a strange race who intervened in the fate of humanity hundreds of years before. They spared those they could from the ruined Earth, and suspended them in a long, deep sleep. Over centuries, the Oankali learned from the past, cured disease and healed the world. Now they want Lilith to lead her people back home. But salvation comes at a price - to restore humanity, it must be changed forever...

From a celebrated, award-winning author, a modern classic about a young girl fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin and Margaret Atwood. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding social chaos and anarchy caused by climate change and economic crisis. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy—a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions. Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny. Includes a foreword by LeVar Burton and an afterword by N. K. Jemisin Lauren's story continues in The Parable of the Talents. "In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time, Octavia Butler's 'Parable' books may be unmatched."—The New Yorker

'A book that shifted my life... Epic, game-changing, moving and brilliant' VIOLA DAVIS on Wild Seed 'In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time... for sheer peculiar prescience, Butler's novel may be unmatched' NEW YORKER A PATTERNIST NOVEL: BOOK FOUR The Patternmaster is all powerful. His every thought can control, heal or destroy. The only threat to his command are the Clayarks, a society of people born out of terrible disease, who now live enslaved by the ruling Patternists or in the wild. Coransee, son of the Patternmaster, wants the throne and will stop at nothing to succeed his father, even if it means killing every one of his siblings. But when one brother - his rival and his equal - takes refuge amongst the Clayarks, a war ensues that will change the world forever.

In a violent near-future, Asa Elias Doyle and her companions encounter an alien life form so heinous and destructive, they exile themselves in the desert so as not to contaminate other humans. To resist the compulsion to infect others is mental agony, but to succumb is to relinquish humanity and free will. Desperate, they kidnap a doctor and his two daughters as they cross the wasteland--and endanger the world.

"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 This is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself.

Als letzte Überlebende eines Massakers, bei dem ihr Stamm ausgerottet wurdle, gelangt Alanna zu den Missionaren. Von ihren Pflegeeltern wie ein eigenes Kind erzogen, fühlt Alanna sich jedoch nie als vollwertiges Mitglied ihrer neuen Lebensgemeinschaft. Als eine tödliche Epidemie die Missionare zwingt, die Erde zu verlassen und auf einen fremden Planeten zu flüchten, steht Alanna vor der schwersten Entscheidung ihres Lebens. Auf dem Planeten liefern sich die Garkohn und die Tehkohn, zwei dort ansässige Rassen, einen mörderischen Kampf. Die Missionare verbünden sich mit den Garkohn, während Alanna von den Tehkohn und ihrer Lebensart seltsam fasziniert ist. Mehr noch, sie verliebt sich in den Anführer des Stammes. Und plötzlich steht Alanna im Mittelpunkt, denn allein in ihrer Hand liegt es, zwischen den kämpfenden Parteien Frieden zu stiften.