Reviews

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

chrissy_reads_sometimes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

danielles_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective

4.5

I didn't individually rate the stories this time, so the rating reflects my overall enjoyment, which was quite high! I should've known that Butler would be a master at creating a believable, detailed world within a short page length. A lot of short stories I've read have felt like they didn't have a point or an overall arc, but almost all of these felt really suited to the short story format. I was really absorbed into her writing and read this a lot faster than I had anticipated. 

It was interesting to see a lot of similar themes in these stories as in her novels, especially compared to the Xenogenesis series. Lots of stories about aliens with parasitic relationships with humans and the effects of that. Butler is very good at making the reader uncomfortable, and that was definitely accomplished in most of these stories. But they really made me think, and I especially enjoyed the buddy read in Literature Science Alliance's Discord. These stories generated a lot of meaningful and nuanced discussion.

I think my favorite stories here are "Bloodchild" and "Amnesty" (coincidentally both the uncomfortable alien stories). Both had brilliant world building with great endings that leave you thinking about the implications. I really liked "Speech Sounds," which felt pretty optimistic for a Butler dystopian story, and was one I would have loved to have been able to see more of. I also liked the premise of "The Evening and the Morning and the Night," though the ending left a little to be desired (

I'll always roll my eyes at pheromones being a plot point

). "Near of Kin" was good in an "I don't want to think about this for too long" kind of way, though the afterword did strengthen its significance for me since

Butler said it was inspired by the incest and other terrible things in the Bible, which often go unacknowledged.

"Crossover" and "The Book of Martha" were the weakest to me, though fortunately both generated some good discussion in the buddy read.

I also really liked the short essays included as well. Both were such perfect time capsules into the time periods of Butler's life, and show how far publishing has come since then, as well as all the struggles Butler had to overcome to get as far as she did. She wrote in one of the afterwords that she didn't think her life was very interesting compared to her fiction, but I beg to differ. I'm glad we got to learn more about her, like how her mom was so supportive of her writing, even though she could barely afford to help her.

Speaking of the afterwords, I'm really glad they were included. They all added interesting additional layers to these stories, and helped me see things that I might not have seen otherwise. It was also cool to see what inspired some of Butler's ideas, and what some of the things she was fixated on were. The notes did get a lot shorter as the book went on though, and I wish she had written a little bit more throughout.

Overall a win for me, and I'm looking forward to finally reading more of Butler's work, like I've always wanted to.

jotoide's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

4.0

I think this collection is what has completely sold me on Butler's writting. I already liked her style, matter-of-fact and unadorned but able to knock you out, but the creativity and thought that was put into the worlds of the stories really made me see what made her an outstanding writter.
The essays, as well, were great. I liked them, they spoke to me like the've known me forever.
4/5 stars because some stories I didnt like as much but my overall rating on my personal scale is a very good 8.5/10
I have to read more of her works

bridgett's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

rogerd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.25

sweetdinnerroll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense

4.5

outcolder's review against another edition

5.0

These stories cover more or less the same kinds of themes as the novels, but the flavor is more intense, like the stew has boiled down a bit and gotten concentrated. Each story has a short afterword and it is very interesting to get Butler’s own opinion or context of her work. There are two essays here, too. One is a short biographical piece that inadvertently offers a lot to mull over. The last story was a bit disappointing but the rest of it more than makes up for it.

destiniev's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

gboye's review against another edition

5.0

I was fascinated by every story and Butler’s brief afterwords. Haunting and eerie - I’m SO into it! I feel like I just became a sci-if fan.

averirachel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0