Scan barcode
A review by queer_bookwyrm
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
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