![]() Missionaries (like an actual religious group that calls themselves Missionaries) go to some already-inhabited planet, without asking first or anything, and just start living there. The biggest problem I see with this book is that it is kind of "settler" or colonial. Despite its flaws this book is still better than a lot of what's out there. Still, 3.75 for me means that I liked it (3 being "I liked it" and 4 being "I really liked it"). ![]() It's the lowest rating I've given to a book of hers. What did I think? I can see what she means-this isn't up to the standard of Kindred, Wild Seed, or the Earthseed books. So I got my hands on it and checked it out! It's been out of print since 1981, so you can imagine my glee when I was browsing the local library recently and came across a copy of it-one of only two Butler books they had on the shelf! Even better, the last Butler book I read was Clay's Ark, the book preceding this one in the Patternist series. Octavia Butler is one of my favorite authors, and this book is famously her "worst" one-she herself was seemingly embarrassed of it, requesting that it not be reprinted. However, do not pay $603.50 plus shipping. If you are a fan of Octavia Butler, it's definitely worth trying to get a hold of a copy through your public library. Despite its numerous flaws, Survivor, kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. What I learned in reading Survivor, is that reading the worst book by a master author is still better than reading a lot of the crap that's out there. In a manner reminiscent of the original Star Trek, she is able to figure out almost every situation and tell others what is going on in excruciating detail. The protagonist, Alanna, is supposed to be 15 years old, but she has the maturity of a woman 10-15 years older. I also think the characters weren't developed very well. However, it wasn't particularly original, even for 1978. I do have to say that the actual story was quite good. The best parts of the book are the scenes that are happening in the "now" rather than the "then". She also spends too much time having characters telling each other what's going on rather than putting the reader in the action. As a result, the story never develops any depth. She approaches the these topics like a child playing tag-a quick touch before running off in another direction. I think the real reason Butler loathed it is that she wanted to bring up issues of race, sex, and religion, and she chickened out. The story is good and it is worthy of an episode of that boundary-breaking series. That in and of itself doesn't sound so awful. So, I guess the real question is: Why did Octavia Butler hate Survivor so much? In her review, Jo Walton states that Butler called it her "Star Trek" book. On my most recent visit to the library that I finally bought a library card for (grrr), I found a copy in the most excellent of library science fiction sections. (The current low price on Amazon is $134.01 for a paperback, $603.50 for a hardback.) Jo Walton did a review of it a few months ago on Tor.com and my curiosity was piqued once again. ![]() Of course, that got my curiosity going, but not enough to pay over $100 for a used copy. Butler hated the book so much, she never allowed it to be reprinted. Somewhere along the way, I learned that there was one book in the series that had been left out of the collection, Survivor. I promptly went out and purchased the omnibus version of the series, Seed to Harvest. I was completely blown away by her storytelling and her imagination. I had my first encounter with Octavia Butler last March when I read Wild Seed, the first book in the Patternist series. Her papers are held in the research collection of the Huntington Library. Butler died of a stroke at the age of 58. ![]() She also taught writer's workshops, and eventually relocated to Washington state. Her books and short stories drew the favorable attention of the public and awards judges. She soon sold her first stories and by the late 1970s had become sufficiently successful as an author that she was able to pursue writing full-time. She attended community college during the Black Power movement, and while participating in a local writer's workshop was encouraged to attend the Clarion Workshop, which focused on science fiction. She began writing science fiction as a teenager. Extremely shy as a child, Octavia found an outlet at the library reading fantasy, and in writing. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant.Īfter her father died, Butler was raised by her widowed mother. Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction writer, one of the best-known among the few African-American women in the field.
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