Fledgling

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Fledgling (2017, Blackstone Audio, Inc.)

audio cd

Published July 1, 2017 by Blackstone Audio, Inc..

ISBN:
978-1-5384-5937-9
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3 stars (1 review)

Shori is a mystery. Found alone in the woods, she appears to be a little black girl with traumatic amnesia and near-fatal wounds. But Shori is a fifty-three-year-old vampire with a ravenous hunger for blood, the lost child of an ancient species of near-immortals who live in dark symbiosis with humanity. Genetically modified to be able to walk in daylight, Shori now becomes the target of a vast plot to destroy her and her kind. And in the final apocalyptic battle, her survival will depend on whether all humans are bigots-or all bigots are human.

4 editions

Review of 'Fledgling' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

There is no denying that this was an ambitious novel. From the outset, Butler makes it clear that she has a powerful, unique interpretation of the vampire genre and intends to explore it in depth. And that aspect of it, the world building, is truly impressive. What’s more, in every chapter of the novel, the reader discovers more about that world and we are gradually given the impression of a rich and ancient culture living parallel to our own.
However, I almost feel that, such was the strength of Butler’s vision, that she allowed to take over to the detriment of everything else.

This isn’t quite the Silmarillion, but I found myself reading this book increasingly as I might an academic text rather than a work of fiction. In fact, it read as nothing quite so much as a philosophical thought experiment - and as one, it is fascinating: throughout …