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calarco 's review for:
Clay's Ark
by Octavia E. Butler
This may very well be the scariest Octavia Butler book I have read yet, both in terms of sheer brutality and psychological horror. Thematically speaking, if [b:Wild Seed|52318|Wild Seed (Patternmaster, #1)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388462753l/52318._SY75_.jpg|1330000] details the mythological origins of Doro’s advanced race, and [b:Mind of My Mind|116254|Mind of My Mind (Patternmaster, #2)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389676159l/116254._SY75_.jpg|111957] unravels the beginnings of Genesis (sprinkled with hints of rebellion from the Gospels) with Mary’s new Patternist community, then [b:Clay's Ark|60933|Clay's Ark (Patternmaster, #3)|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461533398l/60933._SY75_.jpg|1008173] devolves into the collateral damage of a fully realized Sodom and Gomorrah.
While occurring within the universe of the Patternist series, Clay’s Ark narratively takes place in so largely an isolated time and space, that it can ultimately be read as a standalone novel. This world is the beginning of a bleak dystopian hellscape, one that has arguably progressed further along into chaos than what Butler would later write about in the Parable series (if you are inclined to rank your Butler dystopias). A missed opportunity could have been the inclusion and expansion on the events of Mind of My Mind and how they led to such an unstable environment fueled by mass inequality. Oh well.
All in all, there is some truly dark content in this book—if nearly any other author had written on many of these themes, I would almost certainly have hated the final outcome. That said, Octavia Butler’s unusual comfort zone is accurately capturing how human nature responds to the most psychologically taxing scenarios, and in her world the unexpected have a tendency to unleash surprising resilience. Whether or not survival is actually worth it is another matter for debate. This world is so ruthless that I know I would have zero desire to endure in nearly any capacity amidst such levels of cruelty.
I would expand more on details, but for this one the less you know going into it, the better. If you are someone who has a hard time reading about terrible things happening to young children/teens, take it from me and sit this one out. Or don’t—I’m not the boss of you—but at least you have been forewarned.
Rating: 3.5 stars
While occurring within the universe of the Patternist series, Clay’s Ark narratively takes place in so largely an isolated time and space, that it can ultimately be read as a standalone novel. This world is the beginning of a bleak dystopian hellscape, one that has arguably progressed further along into chaos than what Butler would later write about in the Parable series (if you are inclined to rank your Butler dystopias). A missed opportunity could have been the inclusion and expansion on the events of Mind of My Mind and how they led to such an unstable environment fueled by mass inequality. Oh well.
All in all, there is some truly dark content in this book—if nearly any other author had written on many of these themes, I would almost certainly have hated the final outcome. That said, Octavia Butler’s unusual comfort zone is accurately capturing how human nature responds to the most psychologically taxing scenarios, and in her world the unexpected have a tendency to unleash surprising resilience. Whether or not survival is actually worth it is another matter for debate. This world is so ruthless that I know I would have zero desire to endure in nearly any capacity amidst such levels of cruelty.
I would expand more on details, but for this one the less you know going into it, the better. If you are someone who has a hard time reading about terrible things happening to young children/teens, take it from me and sit this one out. Or don’t—I’m not the boss of you—but at least you have been forewarned.
Rating: 3.5 stars