I will be 100% honest with you. I only read Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler because it was available for immediate download from Libby and I didn't have any other library books on my Kindle. It was not my first choice Butler. But any Octavia Butler is good, right?
Ahem.
So, this book was written eighteen years after Dawn, the first book in the Xenogenesis trilogy. So the fact that the first scene in Fledgling is nearly identical to Dawn is just a coincidence, right? A woman wakes up, has amnesia, and has to figure out what's going on. What seemed like a really creative way of introducing us to a world different from our own, through the eyes of a main character who also doesn't know anything about the world in Dawn just seems a little bit like lazy writing here. I think world-building in fantasy is really hard, but using the same strategy here didn't feel fresh and creative anymore.
Moving on. Shori wakes up. We soon learn she's a a fiftysomething-year-old vampire, but her body is that of a twelve-year-old girl. And, in some Interview with the Vampire shit, people are seriously into her and there are repulsive sex scenes and endless talk of scents.
In Kindred and Xenogenesis, Butler raises really interesting questions about our own world through the genre of fantasy. In this book, it feels like she's just telling us a vampire story. I can't figure out what the message of the book really is (technological changes are okay? don't treat people who are different in some way like crap?) or why I should recommend other people read it. Plus, it was just over 300 pages long and felt like 1000.
Read Kindred or Xenogenesis instead! 3/5 stars
I have not read Fledgling, but I really did like Kindred. Actually, Kindred is the only book I have read and I liked it a lot so maybe I should let it keep for now and not sully my opinion on her? You tell me; if I read Xenogenesis, will I still hold her in high regard!?
ReplyDeleteThe first two books of Xenogenesis are AMAZING. I like them even more than Kindred, to be honest. The third book is not as great, but I think your opinion would be safe it you read Xenogenesis!
DeleteHa ha, okay I'll avoid this one. I haven't read any Octavia Butler but I want to. I"ll put Kindred on my TBR.
ReplyDeleteYes! I think you'll like Kindred, although it has some pretty graphic scenes, so be aware!
DeleteKindred was amazing, and I have The Parable of the Sower, though I have not yet read it. I'm sorry to hear that this book was lacking, though perhaps that is encouraging to us as humans, that even Butler had an off book, right?
ReplyDeleteYES! Butler writing a meh book gives me hope!
DeleteI dont think I have ever read anything by this author.
ReplyDelete