Reviews

Unexpected Stories by Octavia E. Butler

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easytocrash's review

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

tricapra's review against another edition

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5.0

Unexpected indeed. What a delight to get to dip back into the genius of Ms. Butler, long enough after her passing that the hope of new work wasn't a possibility I had considered. While these two stories aren't as ground breaking or startling as some of her more stand-out stories, it was excellent to read them. If you're already a fan of her work, you'll enjoy these. If you've never had the chance to read her, this isn't a bad place to start.

The first novella, A Necessary Being, felt whole and self contained. The second story, Childfinder, comissioned for a Harlan Ellison collection that was never published, felt worthy of an expansion into a novel or novellette. It left me hungry for more.

I'm grateful for all the folks who worked to make this possible, and to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read them.

taratearex's review

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I listened to the audiobook for this, read by Robin Miles so of course it was excellent. I will say I think audiobook format was not the right format for me to read it without a physical copy, there are a lot of fantasy names that are harder for me to remember when I don't have the visual, so I will probably re-read this in physical form when I do a reread. It also seems like the audiobook is the 2014 edition, because I'm seeing reviews talking about a forward by Nisi Shawl and an afterword by the executor of Butler's literary estate that were not in the audio edition so I will look for a later edition to be able to read those!

As for the stories, one is a novella and one is a short story. Easy to say I would have preferred both as full novels, as they both have so much depth and social commentary even in short form, but I'll take whatever writing I can get from Octavia E Butler, so I'm glad these were eventually published.

jazminrose's review

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3.0

I don’t know if I fully “get” these stories. I think I may revisit them in future to see if my perspective changes.

dste's review against another edition

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A book composed of two previously unpublished stories. The first takes up the majority of the book, while the second is only about twenty pages. Both have exactly the type of setup you'd expect from sci-fi, and the worldbuilding is handled quickly and skillfully.

I found the aliens of the first story to be particularly interesting, although I couldn't decide whether the author was trying to say something and, if so, what it might be. Setting up a caste system based on skin color would seem to hint at an underlying message, but the ending didn't go as I would have expected. It was, however, a satisfying ending, and if it was just meant to make the readers think about these things, it did a good job of that.

The second story ended a bit abruptly for my taste, but I see perfectly where the author was going with it. I wish it had been a bit longer, but I can use my imagination to fill in the details.

Overall, a quick read that's worth it for fans of the author and sci-fi fans in general. Cool concepts, sympathetic protagonists, and good writing.