Octavia E. Butler’s Catalog
WHERE TO START WITH
OCTAVIA E. BUTLER’S CATALOG
Often referred to as the “grand dame of science fiction,” Octavia E. Butler was the author of several award-winning novels including Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel. Recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant and numerous literary awards, she has been acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from the distant past to the far future. She passed away on February 24, 2006.
START WITH
KINDRED
Perhaps one of Butler’s most famous works, Kindred is a chilling excavation of chattel slavery in America. Butler herself considered it to be one of her most accessible novels for those who don’t typically read science fiction. This new audio edition is narrated by award-winning actress CCH Pounder.
THEN TRY
THE PARABLES
Published in the ’90s, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents have proven to be eerily prescient, with Butler’s depictions of a president seeking to “Make America Great Again” and a post-apocalyptic California ravaged by wildfires. Parable of the Sower became Butler’s first New York Times bestseller in 2020, almost thirty years after it was published.
DIP INTO SCI-FI WITH
LILITH’S BROOD
After nuclear war has destroyed humankind, an alien species saves a small group of survivors, using them to breed a new species. The Lilith’s Brood trilogy examines themes of gender, race, and power amid times of crisis and change.
TRAVEL TIME AND SPACE WITH
THE PATTERNIST SERIES
The Patternist series encompass the first novels that Butler published. They are her longest, most complex series, taking place from late 17th century Africa to an alien world in the far future.
We recommend reading the series in chronological order: Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay’s Ark, Survivor, Patternmaster.
However, they may also be read in publication order: Patternmaster, Mind of My Mind, Survivor, Wild Seed, Clay’s Ark.
A STANDALONE VAMPIRE NOVEL
FLEDGLING
Butler described Fledgling as a departure from the Parables books, which she considered cautionary tales. This provocative novel, the last book she published, asks the question: how far would vampires go to possess the ability to walk in daylight?