Book Review | Bloodchild by Octavia Butler
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Octavia Butler blew my mind!
When I read Wildseed last year, I had decided then that Octavia is definitely one of my favorite fiction writers. Her mind is so remarkable to me. I have to say that Bloodchild did NOT disappoint me. I finished this book in two days.
It is a collection of short stories and two essays. After each entry, she writes an afterword explaining her inspiration behind her writing.
How Octavia thinks of such deep, interesting, compelling and otherworldly stories is astonishing, truly. Her writing is beyond inspirational.
This book starts off with such an odd story that I had to reread the first page 2-3 times because I was so confused. That is the thing about Octavia’s writing. It throws you into a new world, you do not know what you are getting yourself into, it is disorienting, but your curiosity makes you keep going. By the time you are done, her words have you questioning if these other realities Octavia shared are real in some other dimension or galaxy.
Okay, back to the stories. They, in my opinion, have this shock factor to them. You have NO idea what the next page is going to reveal. I think this is one of the most appealing aspects of Octavia’s writing…you literally never know what to expect. Each page is a complete surprise because Octavia’s mind is not normal and I say that with THE MOST AND ABSOLUTE RESPECT. Each story is so unique, it would be a bit difficult for me to even explain them. Just know that there are lots of aliens, diseases, and wild realities.
Reading Octavia’s books are some of my favorite to read because I am really on an adventure in a whole other world. I have been reading to “positively dissociate” (a term I may have coined with my therapist yesterday) since I could read. I loved getting lost in words and worlds. Octavia has this power of latching you in the most gentle way and then letting you go just as gentle. Each ending in her stories is not what I would have projected or expected, but regardless, each ending made sense.
That brings me to something else that I love about Octavia’s writings, especially the short stories in Bloodchild. Although they were literal short stories, it didn’t leave me wanting more of the stories; they all felt complete. Would it have been nice for the story to continue? Sure. Did I need them to continue? No. It is not that I did not or no not love the stories, but they felt perfect in their own right. They made my mind think for a bit afterwards and then I was satisfied. That is another one of Octavia’s superpowers: her works are complete. Yes she has series’, but each book or piece that I have read of hers feels total and complete. I love that. There are not many authors who can do that to me.
Lastly, Octavia has a way of writing sci-fi that doesn’t seem very far fetched. It could all very well be a possibility in someone’s reality. I think it is because Octavia bases her work on real life things that she has seen or read about….maybe all sci-fi and fiction writers do that, but I don’t know, Octavia resonates with my whole mind. Maybe we are kindred.
Either way, if you ever pick up Bloodchild, you will not regret it, I promise. From the first story to the last, it will have you HOOKED and entranced.
Have you read any Octavia Butler books? Which ones are your favorites? Will you read Bloodchild?