Fledgling
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I discovered Octavia's Fledgling by accident and was stunned that such a book exsisted. The story pulled me in from the beginning anf you felt all the injustices that were heaped upon Renee from the get go. I have read this wonderful novel 4 times and I may read it again as I discover new nuances within the book that I missed the first time. I am regretful that this magnificent author has passed and left us without future enlightment. Her books are genius.
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This is an interim review
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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.
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Highly believable modern vampire story
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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.
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