Fledgling
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror
Book Type: Paperback
Definitely well-written and compelling read - like all of her other books. Butler is a mature writer. But that is about all the positive things I have to say about this book.
from the back of the cover:
Fledgling, Octavia Butler's last novel, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for, and how she can save herself.
Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.
PREMISE
A (very) young woman wakes, alone in a cave, horribly injured and suffering from amnesia. Healing, she gradually learns that she is a vampire. In Butler's novel, vampires are an age-old race that has lived alongside man since the dawn of human history. They have lived in a symbiosis with the humans they feed on. The vampires do hold their symbionts somewhat in 'thrall' - humans become physically dependent on them, and vampires are able to 'hypnotically' compel one who they've bitten to obey orders, keep secrets, or forget things... but in return they receive a long, healthy lifespan, sensual pleasure, and a stable, protected life. Butler doesn't really clue the reader in to exactly what she thinks of this trade-off, but there's lots there to think about - implications of freedom vs. security, independence and free will vs. happiness?
Especially since right now (in the story) it's not the safest time to be a vampire symbiont. Our protagonist's whole family (both human and vampire) has been violently wiped out. Are the murderers human vampire hunters who have stumbled upon the secret? Or could the guilty party be vampire as well?
The book's end sort of turns into a tedious & extended "courtroom drama" - which is an excuse for Butler to cash in on the current debate of racism and xenophobiaâ¦
The story reads like a vampire thriller, with chid sex/pornography, murder, and perfectly woven mystery. With some cashing in on the current culture of victimhood, political correctness, wokenes and other current things like equality, diversity and inclusion principles nearly bundled and spooned feed to the reader in small doses at the end of the book. If the book was about politics, period, I would not bat an eye but I'm not really a fan of that sort of thing in a vampire sexual fantasy smut book that tries to wear a coat of high morality.
It's also disturbing how Butler âchallengesâ the reader with her portrayal of a character who is physically perceived as a 10 yr old child, but who behaves in an explicitly mature manner. As in having sex with mature (older) men. It's in poor taste - and very close to presenting child pornography. It definitely makes the reader re-examine preconceptions! If you want to call it that.
from the back of the cover:
Fledgling, Octavia Butler's last novel, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for, and how she can save herself.
Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.
PREMISE
A (very) young woman wakes, alone in a cave, horribly injured and suffering from amnesia. Healing, she gradually learns that she is a vampire. In Butler's novel, vampires are an age-old race that has lived alongside man since the dawn of human history. They have lived in a symbiosis with the humans they feed on. The vampires do hold their symbionts somewhat in 'thrall' - humans become physically dependent on them, and vampires are able to 'hypnotically' compel one who they've bitten to obey orders, keep secrets, or forget things... but in return they receive a long, healthy lifespan, sensual pleasure, and a stable, protected life. Butler doesn't really clue the reader in to exactly what she thinks of this trade-off, but there's lots there to think about - implications of freedom vs. security, independence and free will vs. happiness?
Especially since right now (in the story) it's not the safest time to be a vampire symbiont. Our protagonist's whole family (both human and vampire) has been violently wiped out. Are the murderers human vampire hunters who have stumbled upon the secret? Or could the guilty party be vampire as well?
The book's end sort of turns into a tedious & extended "courtroom drama" - which is an excuse for Butler to cash in on the current debate of racism and xenophobiaâ¦
The story reads like a vampire thriller, with chid sex/pornography, murder, and perfectly woven mystery. With some cashing in on the current culture of victimhood, political correctness, wokenes and other current things like equality, diversity and inclusion principles nearly bundled and spooned feed to the reader in small doses at the end of the book. If the book was about politics, period, I would not bat an eye but I'm not really a fan of that sort of thing in a vampire sexual fantasy smut book that tries to wear a coat of high morality.
It's also disturbing how Butler âchallengesâ the reader with her portrayal of a character who is physically perceived as a 10 yr old child, but who behaves in an explicitly mature manner. As in having sex with mature (older) men. It's in poor taste - and very close to presenting child pornography. It definitely makes the reader re-examine preconceptions! If you want to call it that.
