girl in greenwood

Fledgling
by Octavia Butler

This is the last book published by Octavia Butler before her death, sadly. It's a creative vampire novel, about a young female vampire with dark skin who can tolerate exposure to sunlight. In Butler's concept of the vampire myth, vampires are a separate species from humans that have special abilities. The main character is a hybrid of vampire and human parents who has strengths from both races.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was similar enough to existing vampire stories that I could enjoy it as a familiar retread, but it also had unique ideas that made it more interesting. As usual with Butler's books, there were characteristics that made me a bit uncomfortable... like the sexual bond between the vampires and their human companions, and the fact that the main character had the appearance of a pre-pubescent girl but still had sexual relationships with her companions.

I would've liked to read more stories in this series. It's so sad that Octavia Butler died in such an untimely fashion.

Labels: book reports, Octavia Butler, science fiction