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scifi_rat

fantasy hater, sci-fi consumer, gay derogatory currently making my way through everything octavia butler, toni morrison, nicola griffith and anton hur have published [29; they/them]

2137 points

0% overlap
Sapphic Across Genres
Universe Quest: Octavia Butler's Afro-Futuristic World
LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi & Fantasy
My Taste
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand
The Saint of Bright Doors
Homegoing
The Left Hand of Darkness
These Burning Stars (The Kindom Trilogy, #1)
Reading...
Discordia (The Nova Vita Protocol, 3)
4%
Rebecca
32%
The Islanders
41%

scifi_rat TBR'd a book

7h
Green Island

Green Island

Shawna Yang Ryan

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scifi_rat commented on scifi_rat's review of Bloodchild and Other Stories

10h
  • Bloodchild and Other Stories
    scifi_rat
    Jan 29, 2026
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: Plot:
    👽
    🪱
    📖

    this collection is such a gift to the world. being able to see an afterword after every story was such a treat and i wish other short story collections did that. also the more i get to read of what octavia butler has to say, the better.

    she said it's hard for her to write short stories because usually they become a prelude to a full novel or series, so these works are the very few that she wrote as short stories only without the desire to expand them into something longer. i think that's why all these stories have such a strong impact and all stand so strong on their own. so often i read short story collections and they feel like an assortment of excerpts from larger works. that's not the case here. ms butler was such a master of her craft.

    "bloodchild" of course packed such a punch and is clearly the star of the show. it's definitely one of the best short stories i've ever read.

    the second story, "the evening and the morning and the night," is so much quieter but it's also one that i know will stay with me for a very long time.

    the two essays on writing are such a treasure and i want to print out "furor scribendi" and frame it on my wall as motivation for my writerly ambitions.

    thank you, octavia e butler, for blessing the world with your spectacular, albeit short, existence.

    2
    comments 4
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  • scifi_rat commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    10h
  • Looking for winter book recs ❄️🌨️☃️✨✨

    I’m looking for winter book recs to romanticise the hardest months of the year. Could be cosy, or just like beautifully written prose with a wintry setting, I really don’t mind! Good with most genres, and ideally queer romance but I understand this isn’t a perfect world haha. Many thanks!

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  • scifi_rat wrote a review...

    10h
  • Bloodchild and Other Stories
    scifi_rat
    Jan 29, 2026
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: Plot:
    👽
    🪱
    📖

    this collection is such a gift to the world. being able to see an afterword after every story was such a treat and i wish other short story collections did that. also the more i get to read of what octavia butler has to say, the better.

    she said it's hard for her to write short stories because usually they become a prelude to a full novel or series, so these works are the very few that she wrote as short stories only without the desire to expand them into something longer. i think that's why all these stories have such a strong impact and all stand so strong on their own. so often i read short story collections and they feel like an assortment of excerpts from larger works. that's not the case here. ms butler was such a master of her craft.

    "bloodchild" of course packed such a punch and is clearly the star of the show. it's definitely one of the best short stories i've ever read.

    the second story, "the evening and the morning and the night," is so much quieter but it's also one that i know will stay with me for a very long time.

    the two essays on writing are such a treasure and i want to print out "furor scribendi" and frame it on my wall as motivation for my writerly ambitions.

    thank you, octavia e butler, for blessing the world with your spectacular, albeit short, existence.

    2
    comments 4
    Reply
  • Post from the Bloodchild and Other Stories forum

    11h
  • Bloodchild and Other Stories
    Thoughts from 100% (page 213) [The Book of Martha]

    so basically, if Octavia Butler was God, the world would be a better place

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  • Post from the Bloodchild and Other Stories forum

    11h
  • Bloodchild and Other Stories
    Thoughts from 86% (page 184) [Amnesty]

    "Amnesty" def has some Dawn vibes with parallels between Noah and Lilith, which i found interesting. "Amnesty" feels more realistic in some ways and finding out it was written in response to the treatment of Dr. Wen Ho Lee of Los Alamos makes a lot of sense. The U.S. govt is such garbage, always

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  • scifi_rat commented on scifi_rat's update

    scifi_rat made progress on...

    18h
    Bloodchild and Other Stories

    Bloodchild and Other Stories

    Octavia E. Butler

    100%
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    Post from the Bloodchild and Other Stories forum

    1d
  • Bloodchild and Other Stories
    Thoughts from 66% (page 142) [Furor Scribendi]

    as someone whose dream it always was to be a published writer, i treasure this essay very dearly. i wish i had been in the u.s. when ms butler was alive and had taken a class by her but sadly that will never be

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  • Post from the Bloodchild and Other Stories forum

    1d
  • Bloodchild and Other Stories
    Thoughts from 63% (page 135) [Positive Obsession]

    i'm so happy i got a glimpse into ms butler's life like this and her motivation and origin of writing. i feel like at this point i have a parasocial relationship with her lmao i am constantly thinking about her

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  • Post from the The Islanders forum

    1d
  • The Islanders
    Thoughts from 61% (page 130) [Positive Obsession]

    "When I was older, I decided that getting a rejection slip was like being told your child was ugly. You got mad and didn't believe a word of it. Besides, look at all the really ugly literary children out there in the world being published and doing fine!"

    so real :,)

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  • scifi_rat commented on a post

    1d
  • Bloodchild and Other Stories
    Thoughts from 51% (page 110) Speech Sounds
    spoilers

    View spoiler

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    comments 1
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