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Octavia Estelle Butler

    22 juin 1947 – 24 février 2006

    Octavia Butler était une auteure de science-fiction américaine, renommée pour ses explorations uniques de la race, de la sexualité, de la classe et de l'humanité. Ses œuvres abordent fréquemment des questions sociales complexes, les tissant dans des récits captivants et des concepts provocateurs. Butler a été une pionnière qui n'a pas craint d'examiner les aspects les plus sombres de la nature humaine et de l'avenir. Son influence sur le genre de la science-fiction est indéniable, et sa voix continue de résonner.

    Octavia Estelle Butler
    Kindred
    Lilith's Brood
    Bloodchild
    Parable of the Talents
    Bloodchild and Other Stories
    Octavia E. Butler: Kindred, Fledgling, Collected Stories (Loa #338)
    • 2023

      A New York Times 6 New Paperbacks to Read This Week A Los Angeles Daily News 25 Must Read Best Books of 2023 A Ms Magazine September 2023 Reads For The Rest of Us "The impression left by The Last Interview is of an indomitable woman who made her way through persistence and diligence." -- Dave Luhrssen of the The Shepherd Express “I write about people who do extraordinary things. It just turned out that it was called science fiction.” - Octavia E. Butler Octavia E. Butler's work broke innumerable barriers and helped open the field of science fiction to writers and readers it had never had before. As the first Black writer to win the coveted Nebula and Hugo Awards, her courage and vision left a peerless legacy for fans not just of science fiction, but of American literature. In this collection of 10 interviews, 3 of them never published, Butler speaks with candor and openness about her work, her imaginative mission, and the barriers she faced as a Black woman working in a genre dominated by white men. The book features an original introduction by science fiction legend Samuel R. Delany, in which he discusses his personal relation with Butler, providing unparalleled insight into her work and life.

      Octavia E. Butler: The Last Interview
    • 2022

      A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award. Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself? Like all of Octavia Butler’s best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature’s strongest voices.

      Bloodchild and Other Stories
    • 2021

      An original and eerily prophetic writer, Octavia E. Butler used science fiction to explore the dangerous legacy of racism in America through deeply personal narratives. She broke new ground with complex Black female protagonists, stating, "I wrote myself in," and established herself as a pioneer of the Afrofuturist aesthetic. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, recognizing her contributions to the genre and American literature. This volume in the Library of America edition of Butler's collected works includes her 1979 masterpiece, Kindred, her final novel, Fledgling, and her collected short stories. In Kindred, Dana, a Black woman married to a white man, is transported between contemporary California and the pre-Civil War South, where she finds herself enslaved on her white ancestor's plantation. The gripping narrative uses time travel to explore the devastating structures of slavery and their enduring impact. Fledgling begins with a woman awakening in a cave, covered in burns and with no memory of her identity. She discovers she is a vampire, part of a group known as the Ina, but uniquely possesses African American DNA, granting her brown skin and the ability to withstand sunlight. This novel combines elements of murder mystery and fantasy thriller, showcasing Butler's unique take on the vampire genre. The volume also features eight short stories, five essays—including tw

      Octavia E. Butler: Kindred, Fledgling, Collected Stories (Loa #338)
    • 2020

      Mind of My Mind

      • 256pages
      • 9 heures de lecture
      4,3(530)Évaluer

      From the critically acclaimed and award-winning author comes the stunning story of telepathically sensitive Mary and her fight to free herself and her people from an immortal being who uses them for their bodies. In this stunning Book Two of the Patternist series, the human race is ready to break free and win their freedom. For 4,000 years, an immortal has spread the seeds of a master race, using the downtrodden as his private breeding stock. But now a young ghetto telepath has found a way to awaken--and rule--her superhuman kind, igniting a psychic battle as she challenges her creator for her right to free her people.

      Mind of My Mind
    • 2017

      Parable of the Talents

      • 448pages
      • 16 heures de lecture
      4,4(180)Évaluer

      Originally published in 1998, this shockingly prescient novel's timely message of hope and resistance in the face of fanaticism is more relevant than ever. In 2032, Lauren Olamina has survived the destruction of her home and family, and realized her vision of a peaceful community in northern California based on her newly founded faith, Earthseed. The fledgling community provides refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president who vows to "make America great again." In an increasingly divided and dangerous nation, Lauren's subversive colony--a minority religious faction led by a young black woman--becomes a target for President Jarret's reign of terror and oppression. Years later, Asha Vere reads the journals of a mother she never knew, Lauren Olamina. As she searches for answers about her own past, she also struggles to reconcile with the legacy of a mother caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future.

      Parable of the Talents
    • 2005

      Bloodchild

      • 214pages
      • 8 heures de lecture
      4,4(18398)Évaluer

      A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award. Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself?Like all of Octavia Butler’s best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature’s strongest voices.BloodchildThe evening and the morning and the nightNear of kinSpeech soundsCrossoverPositive obsessionFuror scribendiAmnestyThe Book of Martha

      Bloodchild
    • 2005

      Fledgling

      • 310pages
      • 11 heures de lecture
      3,8(30023)Évaluer

      "A master storyteller, Butler casts an unflinching eye on racism, sexism, poverty, and ignorance and lets the reader see the terror and beauty of human nature." - The Washington Post This is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself.

      Fledgling
    • 2003

      Kindred

      • 304pages
      • 11 heures de lecture
      4,3(195082)Évaluer

      On her 26th birthday, Dana and her husband are moving into their apartment when she starts to feel dizzy. She falls to her knees, nauseous. Then the world falls away. She finds herself at the edge of a green wood by a vast river. A child is screaming. Wading into the water, she pulls him to safety, only to find herself face to face with a very old looking rifle, in the hands of the boy's father. She's terrified. The next thing she knows she's back in her apartment, soaking wet. It's the most terrifying experience of her life ...until it happens again

      Kindred
    • 2000

      Wild Seed

      • 320pages
      • 12 heures de lecture
      4,2(1220)Évaluer

      In an "epic, game-changing, moving and brilliant" story of love and hate, two immortals chase each other across continents and centuries, binding their fates together -- and changing the destiny of the human race (Viola Davis). Doro knows no higher authority than himself. An ancient spirit with boundless powers, he possesses humans, killing without remorse as he jumps from body to body to sustain his own life. With a lonely eternity ahead of him, Doro breeds supernaturally gifted humans into empires that obey his every desire. He fears no one -- until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu is an entity like Doro and yet different. She can heal with a bite and transform her own body, mending injuries and reversing aging. She uses her powers to cure her neighbors and birth entire tribes, surrounding herself with kindred who both fear and respect her. No one poses a true threat to Anyanwu -- until she meets Doro. The moment Doro meets Anyanwu, he covets her; and from the villages of 17th-century Nigeria to 19th-century United States, their courtship becomes a power struggle that echoes through generations, irrevocably changing what it means to be human.

      Wild Seed