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sweetdee27's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Classism, and Grief
libristella's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Blood, and Death
cinderrunner's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Butler's writing is incredible. It's so simplistic and straight forward, so it's so easy to lose yourself into the novel, but she never looses the deep, powerful world building and commentary. I have genuinely never read anyone else who manages to do what she does. There is a "slice of life" feel to Butler's books and Fledgling is no exception. The concepts explored around racism, hatred, love, power and consent are so artfully done. I get where other reviews are coming from saying it is info dumpy or too slow/boring. I found having Shori loose her memory was an incredible way for us to be on the journey of discovering and judging the world of the Ina with her. I didn't find it info dumpy because of it being handled through that lens. And yes, the story isn't very action packed or over the top in the giant wars and mythic quests way a lot of fantasy/scifi books are. The drama, violence, and tension is much more of a slow burn that really allows you to melt into Shori and her journey. This is the most unique vampire novel I've ever read. It blurs the lines of scifi and fantasy really well. The vampire world of the Ina is so fascinating as is their relationship to humans. They hold themselves so far above humans but, as we see more of how they behave and the crimes they commit, are they? Absolutely love everything Butler accomplished here. I wish it could have been a series, I'd love to know what the future holds for Shori and her eventual children.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Blood, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Misogyny
plainpaige's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Ooof. I would have liked this book more if not for the shadow cast over it by the explicit pedophilia of it all. Of course, some will say it's not actually pedophilia, the "child" protagonist was in her 50s! But let's just say, this book will never be made into a movie. Even disregarding the explicit relationships between this person who appears to be ~10 years old, I had trouble finding myself interested in the story or the characters. A third of this book was judicial bureaucratic boredom, and perhaps Butler could have expanded it into a more interesting series, but I personally wouldn't have read the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Classism, Mental illness, Death of parent, Ableism, Gun violence, Addiction, Racism, Violence, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Alcohol, and Incest
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is my second time reading this (it took me 2 days to finish) and my previous comments/review basically sum up how I feel about this book. I wanted to add that I always love how diverse Butler's characters are. Last time I rated this 3.5 stars but this time I'm bumping it up and rating it 4 stars. It's not my favorite Butler book but it was still good and well written. I really appreciate the commentary on racism and disability.
I still have an issue with the main character having sexual relationships with adults when she looks to be only 10 or 11 years old, but this time around I tried to ignore that it was happening. This would have gotten 5 stars from me if the main character had looked like she was at least in her 20s.
(Sept 14th, 2023)
---
It took me so long to finish this because I was triggered that the main protagonist, who looks 10 years old but is a 53 year old vampire, keeps having sex with various human adults. I finished this for book club and because I loved Octavia E. Butler but I couldn't get into it because of all the sexual content involving someone who looks 10 yrs old. This is my least liked and lowest rated Octavia E. Butler book.
I like the lore on vampires and the vampiric world building, and I liked the commentary on racism and disability. I just had a hard time with the triggering content. I don't understand why Shori wasn't just made to look like an adult.
3.5 out of 5 Stars rounded up because of the cool concepts and commentary on racism and disability.
I still have an issue with the main character having sexual relationships with adults when she looks to be only 10 or 11 years old, but this time around I tried to ignore that it was happening. This would have gotten 5 stars from me if the main character had looked like she was at least in her 20s.
(Sept 14th, 2023)
---
It took me so long to finish this because I was triggered that the main protagonist, who looks 10 years old but is a 53 year old vampire, keeps having sex with various human adults. I finished this for book club and because I loved Octavia E. Butler but I couldn't get into it because of all the sexual content involving someone who looks 10 yrs old. This is my least liked and lowest rated Octavia E. Butler book.
I like the lore on vampires and the vampiric world building, and I liked the commentary on racism and disability. I just had a hard time with the triggering content. I don't understand why Shori wasn't just made to look like an adult.
3.5 out of 5 Stars rounded up because of the cool concepts and commentary on racism and disability.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
nikkiacat's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
mjscooke's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Butler tackles the fascinating premise of what it would be like to be a vampire with amnesia in such an interesting way that weaves together the very real human questions of morality, identity and justice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Racism, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, hunting, descriptions of blood and gore, blood drinking, eating raw meat, sexual content, racism/bigotry, slurs, pedophilia?
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler is the last book she wrote before she died in 2006. This is a bittersweet moment for me, since it means I've now read all of Butler's published works (except for Survivor since it's out of print). I guess now this means rereads!
We follow Shori Matthews as she wakes up in a cave with severe injuries and no knowledge of who she is, where she came from, or how this happened. We learn quickly that Shori isn't human. After healing fully and finding burnt ruins of a community, she is picked up on the side of the road by a good Samaritan, named Wright, who thinks he's helping a child in distress. Shori realizes she's actually a vampire after she bites him. They go on a mission to learn more about Shori and her past and to find others like her.
Shori is a creature called an Ina, who take humans as their symbionts. Ina can't survive without humans, and the Ina extend the lives of the humans bonded to them. A good chunk of the book is spent figuring out who killed Shori's families. Butler has been fond of writing about unique and complex family structures, and the Ina/symbiont family structure is no different. Butler did such a good job with establishing a culture so different from our own, that at first it was hard to read.
The main barrier for someone reading this book would be the apparent pedophilia. Though Shori is a 53 year old vampire, she has the body of a ten year old human girl, and is still considered a child by Ina standards. In Ina communities, children Shori's age start acquiring symbionts and part of the feeding process involves pleasure that turns into sex. In essence we have human men having sex with a person who looks prepubescent. This is a pretty muddy line, since Shori is clearly old enough to consent, even though if she were human she wouldn't be.
This was clearly meant to be a series, but Butler died before she got the chance. I would love to have seen Shori grow up and learn more about the complex society of Ina. Butler's vampire lore is so different from any other vampire book I've read. As always, Butler includes real world problems in her own way. There are themes of racism and bigotry, consent, and free will. We also have a lot of polyamory and queer characters.
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler is the last book she wrote before she died in 2006. This is a bittersweet moment for me, since it means I've now read all of Butler's published works (except for Survivor since it's out of print). I guess now this means rereads!
We follow Shori Matthews as she wakes up in a cave with severe injuries and no knowledge of who she is, where she came from, or how this happened. We learn quickly that Shori isn't human. After healing fully and finding burnt ruins of a community, she is picked up on the side of the road by a good Samaritan, named Wright, who thinks he's helping a child in distress. Shori realizes she's actually a vampire after she bites him. They go on a mission to learn more about Shori and her past and to find others like her.
Shori is a creature called an Ina, who take humans as their symbionts. Ina can't survive without humans, and the Ina extend the lives of the humans bonded to them. A good chunk of the book is spent figuring out who killed Shori's families. Butler has been fond of writing about unique and complex family structures, and the Ina/symbiont family structure is no different. Butler did such a good job with establishing a culture so different from our own, that at first it was hard to read.
The main barrier for someone reading this book would be the apparent pedophilia. Though Shori is a 53 year old vampire, she has the body of a ten year old human girl, and is still considered a child by Ina standards. In Ina communities, children Shori's age start acquiring symbionts and part of the feeding process involves pleasure that turns into sex. In essence we have human men having sex with a person who looks prepubescent. This is a pretty muddy line, since Shori is clearly old enough to consent, even though if she were human she wouldn't be.
This was clearly meant to be a series, but Butler died before she got the chance. I would love to have seen Shori grow up and learn more about the complex society of Ina. Butler's vampire lore is so different from any other vampire book I've read. As always, Butler includes real world problems in her own way. There are themes of racism and bigotry, consent, and free will. We also have a lot of polyamory and queer characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Gore, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Blood, and Racism
ekmook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Hate crime
annamorgan27's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual content