Octavia Butler has completely recreated the mythology of the vampire in a very interesting way. Shori awakens in the woods, severely injured and with no memory. After recovering from her injuries, she wanders out onto a roadways and meets Wright, a human who will help her rediscover who and what she is. While I think the amnesia served more as a convenient device for setting up the world than as a compelling part of the plot, Fledgling offers a creative new spin on vampire mythology that raises questions of how intolerance and racism arise in a society.

With that said, I feel that potential readers deserve fair warning. Like vampires in most other books, the ones in this book are portrayed as sexual beings. While the scenes in this book are not graphic, Shori, though she is a 50-something year old vampire, has the appearance of a 10-12 year old little girl. If you're not the type of person who can adopt the realities presented by the author (in this case, that Shori not only IS an adult, but also seems like one to the humans she is with) the book is likely to strike you the wrong way and I really wouldn't recommend wasting your time or money. ( )

- Shori wakes badly hurt, confused, blind and HUNGRY. She soon realizes that she has no memory of where or even who she is, but when she meets a young man (who mistakes her for a 10-12 year old girl), and he tells her she must be a vampire, she begins to unravel her past. Shori quickly finds herself and her new friend in escalating danger. Fascinating take on the ‘vampire’ story, in which vampires, or the "Ina,” are a completely different race of people. Butler takes on issues of genetic testing, race and prejudice (Shori is an Ina genetic experiment using African American, etc., genes to improve the Inas – for example, her ability to walk in the sun) in this fantastic book – I’m upset there won’t ever be a sequel… ( )

Octavia Butler combines the ancient vampire lore with modern science fiction elements that turn this novel into something fresh and new: A young vampire genetically engineered to be able to walk in the daylight finds herself in a war over her very existence among the vampire population. Butler tweaks the vampire condition a bit: Instead of feeding on humans as prey, they now form a symbiosis with a few of them. The book had a good page-turner and it was both exciting and interesting. 3,5 Stars. ( )

A new way to think about the topic of vampires. What if they are a species living in parallel to humans on Earth? What if the two species have developed a symbiotic relationship, forming large family groups living together in out-of-the-way places?

This is the story of Shori, a child of the Ina. Found wandering on a country road in rural Washington, suffering from amnesia, Shori must learn about her people at the same time she tries to rebuild her family and find out who is trying to kill her. ( )

I liked Kindred better, but this is still pretty dang good. ( )