Fledgling by Octavia Butler

[sqbr]

Summary: a unique and enjoyable novel from the POV of a young female vampire with amnesia.

This was intended to be the first in a trilogy, but then she died :( I have a thing against unfinished series, but I really enjoyed "Parable of the Sower/Talents" and this was the only other book of hers in the library system. There are a lot of similarities: the POV character is a young black american woman who is charismatic, driven, pragmatic, and wise beyond her (apparent) years. The plot again revolves around the desire to create community in a world of misunderstanding and danger. Something I found incredibly refreshing about this book is that it doesn't fall into the same old cliches about vampires. For a start, we have a female vampire POV, and there isn't that whole thing (as in Every Vampire Romance Ever) of the seductive yet deadly Man As Predator and woman as Willing Victim. Instead you have a weird symbiosis between vampire and "victim", creating a strange, intense, mutually beneficial relationship which is not entirely a matter of choice. It feels like the author is replacing the usual vampirism-as-sex metaphor with one that better explores the actual complexities (and creepy/scary-ness) of sex and relationships.

The major plot points and mysteries of the book were thankfully all wrapped up at the end of the book, though I am still sad I won't get to read any more. One thing I found a bit squicky was that while mentally fairly adult the protagonist has the physical appearance of a 12 year old girl, something I tried not to think about during all the sex scenes (which at least didn't feel like they were trying to be sexy). Overall the various power relationships, including the whole nature of vampire society, are interesting if a bit odd and sometimes creepy.

Still, if the idea of "Pragmatic female vampire protagonist" makes you go "Finally!" rather than "What's the fun of that?" you should give this book a go :) (Are there any other books with such a main character? I can't think of any. The best I can think of is movies about sexy female vampires who spend a lot of time posing in corsets etc, which isn't really the same thing)

Comments

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

Can't help with the grown up litratcha, but I can throw in a couple of cheesy films with female vampire leads:

A French Vampire in America aka Innocent Blood http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104511/

Once Bitten http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089730/

[alias_sqbr]

Oh yes, they look like very pragmatic, sensible characters :)

[nico-wolfwood.livejournal.com]

ok, I'm taking your recommendation.

[alias_sqbr]

I hope you like it! After Buffy and Utena, I feel utterly unqualified to say if you'll like something :)

[greyreviews.livejournal.com]

Undead series by MaryJanice Davidson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undead_and_Unwed

And I'm not surpirsed you like Octavia Butler's work.

[alias_sqbr]

Huh. That does sound..different to your usual vampire novel :)

I've liked what I've read so far, though the similarity between the two series makes me wonder how similar her other books are.

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

A selection of more vaguely sensible girl vampires in film:

Dracula's Daughter (1936). Now with added (tasteful) lesbian subtext.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula's_Daughter

The Hunger (1983) Now with added lesbian supertext.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_(film)

Nadja (1994)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadja_(film)

[alias_sqbr]

I see you altered them all slightly as a test, but I managed to overcome your fiendish puzzles and find the correct links! :D

Yes, I remember seeing the first two in "The Celluloid closet". (powerful woman=evil lesbian after all)

I probably should have added "sympathetic" in there :)

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

Fiendishness entirely unintentional, sorry. That wacky Copy+Paste thing.

[alias_sqbr]

It's cool, I like a challenge :)

[fred-mouse.livejournal.com]

is this a book you have a copy of, or does it exist in the state library system?

[alias_sqbr]

It's in the state library system. I've even returned it :)