Paperback, 310 pages
English language
Published Aug. 7, 2007 by Warner Books.
Shori is a mystery. Found alone in the woods, she appears to be a little black girl with traumatic amnesia and near-fatal wounds. But Shori is a fifty-three-year-old vampire with a ravenous hunger for blood, the lost child of an ancient species of near-immortals who live in dark symbiosis with humanity. Genetically modified to be able to walk in daylight, Shori now becomes the target of a vast plot to destroy her and her kind. And in the final apocalyptic battle, her survival will depend on whether all humans are bigots-or all bigots are human.
Sadly this was my last Octavia Butler novel, but it did not disappoint. Her penetrating use of the supernatural to explore human power dynamics is riveting, uncomfortable, and diverse.
I just finished this book, and it was good. I plan to read everything else Butler wrote, too, in time, so I'll reserve comments on her broader writing and personality for when I feel like I know them a bit better. She was a self-described hermit who seems to have shared many of my mental struggles, so I suspect we'll get along fine.
The writing in Fledgling felt a bit sparse and rudimentary, which is apparently a mark of her style. It reminds me of Carver's poetry a bit. I haven't made up my mind on whether I like it in fiction yet, but I certainly liked Fledgling. It's the kind of vampire story I think I've always longed for, one where vampires aren't predators but simply beings with different lifeways, who are as capable of harm as they are of helping, and whose long memories and lifetimes have led …
I just finished this book, and it was good. I plan to read everything else Butler wrote, too, in time, so I'll reserve comments on her broader writing and personality for when I feel like I know them a bit better. She was a self-described hermit who seems to have shared many of my mental struggles, so I suspect we'll get along fine.
The writing in Fledgling felt a bit sparse and rudimentary, which is apparently a mark of her style. It reminds me of Carver's poetry a bit. I haven't made up my mind on whether I like it in fiction yet, but I certainly liked Fledgling. It's the kind of vampire story I think I've always longed for, one where vampires aren't predators but simply beings with different lifeways, who are as capable of harm as they are of helping, and whose long memories and lifetimes have led them to develop more cooperative than dominating ways of being. This is what I would like to believe long-lived people would be like, given enough history to learn from.
Early on reading the book, I commented elsewhere that I feel like the characters aren't well-developed. They feel like two-dimensional prop pieces for the story more than living beings. Other books I like well enough have a similar vibe, though, especially in science fiction (thinking here particularly of Asimov's Foundation series), and I don't mind it much because the story is so good anyway.
Ultimately I'd say, read it if you haven't. Butler is a legend for a reason. And if you like vampire stories, this is the best I've read so far.
