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Octavia Butler or Octavia E. Butler (born June 22, 1947) is an American science fiction writer, and one of the handful of African-American women in the field. She is a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "genius grant".
Bibliography
Patternist Series
- Patternmaster (1976)
- Mind of My Mind (1977) - Sequel to Wild Seed. An immortal's breeding program creates a society of networked telepaths that he struggles to control.
- Survivor (1978)
- Wild Seed (1980) - Two immortals, one who changes bodies and another who has perfect control of her own, struggle to live together over generations. - James Tiptree, Jr. Award winner
- Clay's Ark (1984)
Xenogenesis/Lilith's Brood series
- Dawn (1987) - After the near-extinction of humanity, a woman is resurrected by the alien Oankali as part of a plan to colonize the earth with alien-human hybrids.
- Adulthood Rites (1988) - An alien-human hybrid child is abducted by sterile human resisters.
- Imago (1989) - An androgynous being comes of age and integrates human and alien societies.
The three volumes of this series are also collected into two omnibus editions, Xenogenesis (out of print) and Lilith's Brood.
Parable series
- Parable of the Sower (1993) - a girl develops a benign philosophical and religious system during her childhood in a walled suburb in a dystopian anarchic future Los Angeles. When the suburb's security is compromised, her home is destroyed, and her family murdered, she travels north with some survivors to try to start a community where her religion can grow.
- Parable of the Talents (1998) - as the U.S. continues to fall apart, the protagonist's community is attacked and taken over by a bloc of religious fanatics who inflict brutal atrocities like rape and murder. The novel is essentially a harsh indictment of fundamentalism and in that respect is similar to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
Other
- Kindred (1979) - often shelved in Literature or African-American Literature, rather than with science fiction. Story of a modern African-American woman who keeps falling back through time to rescue her white, slave-owning ancestor.
- Bloodchild and Other Stories (1995) - title story, "Bloodchild" (1984), won Hugo and Nebula Awards.
External Links
- "The Book of Martha" (http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/butler2/) at Scifi.com (http://www.Scifi.com)
- "Amnesty" (http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/butler/) at Scifi.com (http://www.Scifi.com)
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