Fledgling
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror
Book Type: Hardcover
Helpful Score: 3
Definitely well-written - a very compelling read, of the taking-a-long-lunch and staying-up-too-late cause I wanna know what happens variety!
The story works on the level of a vampire thriller, but it also has a bit more than that to it.
A (very) young woman wakes, alone in a cave, horribly injured and suffering from amnesia. Healing, she gradually learns that she is a vampire.
In Butler's novel, vampires are an age-old race that has lived alongside man since the dawn of human history. They have lived in a symbiosis with the humans they feed on. The vampires do hold their symbionts somewhat in 'thrall' - humans become physically dependent on them, and vampires are able to 'hypnotically' compel one who they've bitten to obey orders, keep secrets, or forget things... but in return they receive a long, healthy lifespan, sensual pleasure, and a stable, protected life.
Butler doesn't really clue the reader in to exactly what she thinks of this trade-off, but there's lots there to think about - implications of freedom vs. security, independence and free will vs. happiness?
Especially since right now (in the story) it's not the safest time to be a vampire symbiont. Our protagonist's whole family (both human and vampire) has been violently wiped out. Are the murderers human vampire hunters who have stumbled upon the secret? Or could the guilty party be vampire as well?
The ending of the book sort of turns into an extended "courtroom drama" - which in part seems an excuse for Butler to bring in a discussion of racism and xenophobia... but, even though I'm not really a fan of that sort of literary exposition, it's very well done, and didn't lose me at all.
It's also interesting how Butler challenges the reader with her portrayal of a character who is physically perceived as a child, but who behaves in an explicitly mature manner. It's never in poor taste - but it definitely makes the reader re-examine preconceptions!
The story works on the level of a vampire thriller, but it also has a bit more than that to it.
A (very) young woman wakes, alone in a cave, horribly injured and suffering from amnesia. Healing, she gradually learns that she is a vampire.
In Butler's novel, vampires are an age-old race that has lived alongside man since the dawn of human history. They have lived in a symbiosis with the humans they feed on. The vampires do hold their symbionts somewhat in 'thrall' - humans become physically dependent on them, and vampires are able to 'hypnotically' compel one who they've bitten to obey orders, keep secrets, or forget things... but in return they receive a long, healthy lifespan, sensual pleasure, and a stable, protected life.
Butler doesn't really clue the reader in to exactly what she thinks of this trade-off, but there's lots there to think about - implications of freedom vs. security, independence and free will vs. happiness?
Especially since right now (in the story) it's not the safest time to be a vampire symbiont. Our protagonist's whole family (both human and vampire) has been violently wiped out. Are the murderers human vampire hunters who have stumbled upon the secret? Or could the guilty party be vampire as well?
The ending of the book sort of turns into an extended "courtroom drama" - which in part seems an excuse for Butler to bring in a discussion of racism and xenophobia... but, even though I'm not really a fan of that sort of literary exposition, it's very well done, and didn't lose me at all.
It's also interesting how Butler challenges the reader with her portrayal of a character who is physically perceived as a child, but who behaves in an explicitly mature manner. It's never in poor taste - but it definitely makes the reader re-examine preconceptions!
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