Review: Octavia E. Butler: Kindred, Fledgling, Collected Stories Library of America edition #338

Disclaimer: I received an e-Arc of this book from NetGalley and Library of America to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was not familiar with Octavia Butler or her body of work. When presented with the chance to read and review Octavia Butler: Kindred, Fledgling, and Collected Stories (Library of America edition #338), I couldn't pass it up. Little did I know when I started this mammoth edition of her works, I would find a new favorite author.

At 790 pages, this collection is a masterclass in the genius that was Octavia Butler.  This  includes 2 full novels, 8 short stories, and 5 essays that discuss her writing process and how her race affected her work. There is also a chronology detailing the significant events of her life, which is interesting to see in comparison to where she was in her writing process and how it may have influenced her work.

The first novel in the collection is one of Butler's best known works, "Kindred." This story is about a young black woman named Dana who is sent back in time from 1976 California to Maryland 1819 rescue her white ancestor, who is also the eventual owner of her black ancestors . When Dana finds herself in danger, she mysteriously returns to present day California with little to no time passing. The next time Rufus, Dana's white ancestor, finds himself in peril, Dana and her white husband Kevin come back to 1819 to save him with serious ramifications to their future. 

The second novel in the collection was "Fledgling," which was the last novel Butler published before her death. The main character of the book is  a 53 year old vampire named Shori, who appears and is mentioned repeatedly as looking to be ten years in age. Shori awakens after a fire and experiences amnesia . She is found by a young man named Wright walking down a highway at night, who brings her home with him and allows her to feed on him. They begin a symbiotic feeding/sexual relationship. While investigating her origins at the site of the fire, she is met by her father who explains that unlike other vampires, she is the creation of genetic modification and can move about in sunlight.  Soon after, her father and his compound of vampires are destroyed in a fire much like the one that killed Shori's mother and siblings in the beginning of the story. She, Wright, and two symbiotes from her father's colony seek to find who is set to destroy Shori and bring them to justice.

In addition to the novels, this volume also includes the following short stories and essays:

Childfinder

Crossover

Near of Kin

Speech Sounds

Bloodchild

The Evening and the Morning and the Night

Amnesty

The Book of Martha

Lost Races of Science Fiction

Positive Obsession

Furor Scribendi

The Monophobic Response

This collection was carefully curated to show the best of Ms. Butler's work and is a great opportunity to either start an Octavia Butler collection or to fill in the missing pieces in an existing collection. 

5/5 Stars

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