183 pages
English language
Published Nov. 12, 2001 by G.K. Hall.
Bloodchild and Other Stories is the only collection of science fiction stories and essays written by American writer Octavia E. Butler. Each story and essay features an afterword by Butler. "Bloodchild", the title story, won the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. Originally published in 1995, the 2005 expanded edition contains two additional stories: "Amnesty" and "The Book of Martha".
I've only read the first three stories so far but even if the rest of the book is duds, I still recommend it. The stories are creepy - which I personally like but you might not -, but their thought-provoking and fascinating
I heard the amazing title story originally in a podcast version and so I wanted to listen to the entire collection. Each item collected here crackles with life and explores aspects of its subject that you wouldn't necessarily think about at first. Not all of them are science fiction and fantasy pieces and a couple of them aren't even fiction but they all have something that reveals the genius Octavia Butler commanded. When I got to the end I ready to have more, so I think I'll pick up some of her other works not too long from now.
The narration enhanced the experience for me. Sometimes the audio format makes it hard to follow complex plots or details about a character written in a few words, but the immediacy of the storytelling can more than make up for it as in this case.
