Book Recommendations for a Flight to Octavia E. Butler Landing
In February, the Mars rover Perseverance landed on Mars to search for evidence of life. It landed at a site that NASA named Octavia E. Butler Landing. Who was Octavia E. Butler and what does she have to do with Mars?
Octavia E. Butler was one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. She has won many sci-fi awards and is the only science fiction author to win a MacArthur Fellowship, also known as the “Genius Grant”. She is known for bringing racial diversity and strong female protagonists to the world of science fiction, although she didn’t feel that she fit neatly within one genre.
I have only read a few of her books and plan to read more. Interested in joining me? Here are some suggestions (along with my Amazon Affiliate links).
Kindred seems to cross into many different genres, but is also a sci-fi classic. The book is on the shorter side and sometimes feels like a young adult novel, but addresses adult themes. It’s a spectacular blend of historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction that follows a young Black woman back in forth between 1976 and early-1800s Maryland, where she is enslaved alongside her ancestors.
Xenogenesis is the first in the Lilith’s Brood trilogy and follows a human who wakes up in what appears to be a prison cell, but has actually been rescued from a post-apocalyptic Earth from an alien species. The book uses the different species to explore a lot of the ideas we take for granted as humans. It’s worth a read for anyone interested in being challenged on thoughts about the differences within our species and how people treat each other.
Parable of the Sower is next on my reading list. According to Wikipedia, it is set in a post-(climate change) apocalyptic world and discusses themes of religious believe, mixed-race relationships, scarcity, and poverty. Who’s joining me?
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavia_E._Butler
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/welcome-to-octavia-e-butler-landing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Sower_(novel)