Product Description

A newly expanded edition of Octavia E. Butler's only collection of short stories. |Butler graces new mansions of thought with her eloquent, distinguished and poignant prose. Although this book is little in size, its ideas are splendidly large.| - Booklist |The title story is justly famous. Splendid pieces, set forth in calm, lucid prose with never a word wasted.| - Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #192228 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

Highly believable modern vampire story
Not sure where Amazon got the book description, but it appears to refer to a completely different item (presumably "Bloodchild", since it makes reference to a short story collection). "Fledgling" is a novel, Butler's first for some time. It opens with the narrator, who appears to be a child, lying seriously injured in a cave, unable to remember who she is and what has happened to her. She sets out to rediscover her past and finds that she is one of the Ina, an ancient vampire race. Things become more complicated when it begins to seem as if her life is risk from unknown attackers. In order to keep herself safe, Shori has to relearn who she is and what it means to be Ina.

As so often the case is Butler's work, Shori's story encompasses themes of race and gender. Is someone trying to kill Shori because she is Ina? Because she is part human? Or because she is black? The novel raises questions of where the boundaries of humanity lie and its dark parallel America offers plenty of opportunity for reflection on contemporary debates on integration, immigration, and genetic engineering.

A memorable tale
As gothic tales go this has it all - romance, horror, tension and a contemporary heroine in the form of Shori, a vampire with a missing memory. The story follows her through her discovery of who she actually is and who she has the potential to become. This story can be read on a number of different levels. It has a lot to say about identity formation, race relations, binary gender dynamics and the impact of lost/stolen histories on whole generations of people. But, I don't know. Highly accomplished as this book is, I did wish for Shori to rise up more, let loose, let rip, take over. Perhaps this wasn't the intent of the author, but it felt in parts like the story really needed more deliberate action. That said however, this is an amazingly evocative book and the story stays with you long after reading.

This is an interim review
I started reading this yesterday and was just "there" by the end of the first page. I've read about sixty pages and it's a thrill a line almost. That woman was a powerful writer. Forget the fact that Renee is a vampire or what she does to live and survive, but get caught up in the unravelling mystery and the pace of the book. Every time Renee discovers or works something out, another dozen things are thrown into the plot. I could and probably will go on, but just go out and buy this and then everything else that you can lay your hands on. You'll love it. I've been mourning her untimely departure for months. Now I feel even more sad that she's gone.