Famine, Death, War, and Pestilence — The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon — these are our guides through the Wastelands...

From the Book of Revelations to The Road Warrior; from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. In doing so, these visionary authors have addressed one of the most challenging and enduring themes of imaginative fiction: The nature of life in the aftermath of total societal collapse.

Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today's most renowned authors of speculative fiction, including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King, Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon.

This Nebula Award-winning sequel to Parable of the Sower continues the story of Lauren Olamina in socially and economically depressed California in the 2030s. Convinced that her community should colonize the stars, Lauren and her followers make preparations. But the collapse of society and rise of fanatics result in Lauren's followers being enslaved, and her daughter stolen from her. Now, Lauren must fight back to save the new world order.

Fledgling, Octavia Butler's new novel after a seven year break, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly inhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted — and still wants — to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.

Lilith lyapo awoke from a centuries-long sleep to find herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. Creatures covered in writhing tentacles, the Oankali had saved every surviving human from a dying, ruined Earth. They healed the planet, cured cancer, increased strength, and were now ready to help Lilith lead her people back to Earth--but for a price.

From the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower:After the near-extinction of humanity, a new kind of alien-human hybrid must come to terms with their identity -- before their powers destroy what is left of humankind.
Since a nuclear war decimated the human population, the remaining humans began to rebuild their future by interbreeding with an alien race -- the Oankali -- who saved them from near-certain extinction. The Oankalis' greatest skill lies in the species' ability to constantly adapt and evolve, a process that is guided by their third sex, the ooloi, who are able to read and mutate genetic code.

Now, for the first time in the humans' relationship with the Oankali, a human mother has given birth to an ooloi child: Jodahs. Throughout his childhood, Jodahs seemed to be a male human-alien hybrid. But when he reaches adolescence, Jodahs develops the ooloi abilities to shapeshift, manipulate DNA, cure and create disease, and more. Frightened and isolated, Jodahs must either come to terms with this new identity, learn to control new powers, and unite what's left of humankind -- or become the biggest threat to their survival.

Octavia E. Butler, a Grande Dama da Ficção Científica e autora de clássicos como Kindred: laços de sangue e A Parábola do Semeador, agora nos apresenta uma incrível coletânea de contos e ensaios, uma perfeita introdução para novos leitores e uma aquisição obrigatória para fãs.

“Filhos de Sangue”, um dos grandes destaques da coletânea, traz uma avassaladora reflexão de Octavia sobre questões como simbiose, amor, poder e escolhas impossíveis. O conto venceu todas as premiações da categoria como Hugo, Nebula e Locus e é constantemente enaltecido como um de seus melhores trabalhos

Todos os contos incluem notas da própria autora, abordando a inspiração, criação e desenvolvimento de suas ideias.

Servindo como parábolas dos problemas reais que afligem o mundo atual, cada história nos transporta com poucas palavras pela imaginação extraordinária de Octavia, reforçando a sua posição como uma das autoras mais relevantes da literatura contemporânea.

This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author "pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale" and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green, New York Times).

When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.

Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.

For 4,000 years, an immortal has spread the seeds of a master race, using the downtrodden as his private breeding stock. But now a young ghetto telepath has found a way to awaken -- and rule -- her superhuman kind, igniting a psychic battle as she challenges her creator for her right to free her people.

【编辑推荐】
※ 星云奖最佳长篇小说。
※这并非寓言，而是预言！阅读它，就是阅读人类的现在与未来。
※这本书成功“预测”了特朗普的竞选口号、上台及当代美国社会的乱象。
※媲美《1984》《使女的故事》的反乌托邦经典之作。
※雨果奖、星云奖、轨迹奖作家 奥克塔维娅·E.巴特勒 长篇作品首次引进。
※吴岩、刘宇昆、王侃瑜、三丰、宝树、奥普拉、约翰·格林、尼迪·奥科拉弗、N·K·杰米辛 高度赞誉。
※和《银河帝国》《1984》《云图》共同入围Goodreads美国读者票选史上最佳科幻小说TOP 50。
※近4万人评分高达4.2分的科幻经典之作。
※人类的有些现实，总如钟摆一般，周而复始。
【内容简介】
20多年前，它被写出来用作警世，如今，它或许已然成为现实
2025年的一个晴朗夜晚，15岁的黑人女孩劳伦仰望星空，脑中出现一个词：地球之种。
此时，地球自然环境急剧恶化，美国社会和经济危机四伏，新奴隶制度悄然兴起……
2年后，当她独自走上流亡之路，她又一次望向“地球之种”。她不知道，有个更大的使命在等待着自己，关于未来，关于人类的命运……
【名人和媒体推荐】
※《播种者寓言》和《天赋寓言》中人类奔赴太空、扎根宇宙的宏大愿望，那想要放弃狭隘的孤岛心态、走向人类大同的向往，是否能够在我们这一代获得真正的推进？虽然这些都还是未知数，但我觉得“上帝即改变”的说法是没错的，这句话巧妙地把进化论跟神创论结合在一起，讲出了制衡退化的最好方法。
——世界华人科幻协会会长、全球华语科幻星云奖评委会主任委员吴岩高度赞誉，并作推荐序。
※巴特勒的《播种者寓言》和《天赋寓言》对人心和人性的洞察与共情达到了幻想小说的顶峰。在出版二十多年后，这两部小说的意义非但没有淡化，反而在新一代读者中得到了更多的共鸣与认可。在她的文字里，我们可以看到对现实的绝望，但更重要的是人类永不屈服的探索精神。
——刘宇昆
※巴特勒以冷静从容的笔触描述了一个行将崩塌又充满变化的世界，以及人们为了生存下去所做的种种努力。她以文字利刃割开经过粉饰的现代生活，将既存的问题推演至极致。《播种者寓言》与《天赋寓言》在当下或许比以往任何时代都更值得我们阅读，其中蕴含的深刻思想性与对人性的关怀是我们所有人的宝库，是启示，也是警钟。
——王侃瑜
※全球变暖后的废土世界，右翼原教旨主义者统治的国度，少数族裔被牺牲和奴役，一位拥有共情天赋的黑人女性角色建立了乌托邦Acorn。这是黑人女作家巴特勒1993年的作品，简直就是当代美国现实的精准预言，也难怪被多家主流媒体翻出来大肆推荐和深度解读。最令人动容的是，在如此崩溃的世界背景下，主角们的终极理想依然是跨越星海，定居在另一颗星球。这种向外的理想主义是很多反乌托邦小说所缺乏的。
——三丰
※一部写于上世纪90年代的未来传说，与迈入二十年代的当今世界遥相呼应。厚重黑暗的苦难中，仍有着爱与希望的星光在闪耀，指引着方向。《播种者寓言》和《天赋寓言》拥有史诗的质感，不仅令人感动，也值得我们仔细回味与深思。
——宝树
※“每个人21岁之前都应该读什么书？——奥克塔维娅·E.巴特勒的《播种者寓言》。”——《纽约时报》畅销书作家、《纸镇》作者约翰·格林
※世界奇幻奖“最佳奇幻小说奖”得主 尼迪·奥科拉弗 高度赞誉（她是作者另外一部书《Wild Seed》改编剧集的编剧）
※《破碎的星球》作者、连续3届雨果奖作家 N·K·杰米辛 推荐：“此书可以与《1984》或《使女的故事》相媲美”。
※奥普拉推荐：本书入选《奥普拉：每个人都应该读的20本反乌托邦小说》
※奥克塔维娅·E·巴特勒的传记作者、马凯特大学英语系副教授 杰瑞·卡纳万：“地球之种系列成书并出版于20世纪90年代，令人胆寒地对近未来的美国作出了精准的预言。”
“这是小说时代最好的声音之一……巴特勒是一位讲故事的大师，她对种族主义、性别歧视、贫穷和无知等问题毫不畏惧，让读者看到人性的恐怖和美丽。——《华盛顿邮报》

2024. Le nouveau président des États-Unis provoque une crise sans précédent. Dérèglement social et climatique, épidémies, pauvreté, violences… Dans ce décor post-apocalyptique, la barbarie règne, les murs s’élèvent. La fille d’un pasteur noir atteinte d’hyper-empathie entame la rédaction d’une Bible d’espoir et d’humanité, Le Livre des Vivants.

UNE ANTICIPATION VISIONNAIRE

« Une grande dame de la SF, auteure américaine majeure ayant écrit sur la question noire et dont l’œuvre foisonnante déconstruit les mythes de la technologie, de la conquête et du pouvoir. »

Léa Mormin-Chauvac – Libération

A FICÇÃO DE OCTAVIA BUTLER É MAIS REAL DO QUE GOSTARÍAMOS

Lauren Olamina está casada e acaba de ter uma filha em Bolota, a comunidade que construiu com outras pessoas que haviam perdido tudo. Nos últimos cinco anos, Semente da Terra, a religião criada por Olamina cresce e se desenvolve junto com a comunidade. O país, porém, começa a passar por uma preocupante mudança.

O candidato à presidência Andrew Steele Jarret está ganhando popularidade com a promessa de “tornar a América grande novamente” em um retorno aos valores tradicionais e cristãos. Para seus fanáticos seguidores, isso exige o fim da tolerância religiosa e de qualquer igualdade racial e de gênero – e estão dispostos a impor sua doutrina com violência.

A segurança da pequena comunidade e da família nascente de Olamina nunca foi garantida. “Deus é mudança”, mas eles sobreviverão a mais uma?

Quando uma crise ambiental e econômica leva ao caos social, nem mesmo as cidades muradas estão seguras. Em uma noite de fogo e morte, Lauren Olamina, a jovem filha de um pastor, perde sua família, seu lar e se aventura pelas terras americanas desprotegidas. Mas o que começa como uma fuga pela sobrevivência acaba levando a algo muito maior: uma visão estonteante do destino humano.

E ao nascimento de uma nova fé.

Indicado ao Prêmio Locus de Melhor Romance de Ficção Científica.

Nessa sequência de Despertar, Lilith Iyapo deu à luz ao que parece um menino saudável de nome Akin. Porém, Akin tem na verdade cinco pais: um homem e uma mulher, um Oankali macho e um fêmea, e um Ooloi agênero. Os Oankali e os Ooloi são parte de uma raça alienígena que resgatou a humanidade de uma devastadora guerra nuclear, mas o preço a ser pago a eles é alto, uma vez que os alienígenas são obrigados a unir seu material genético com o de outras raças, alterando drasticamente ambos no processo.

Nesse planeta Terra em reabilitação, essa “nova” raça está emergindo através da mistura de humano/Oankali/Ooloi, mas há também humanos “puros” que escolhem resistir aos alienígenas e a salvação que oferecem. Esses resistentes são esterilizados pelos Ooloi para que não possam passar para frente o defeito genético que os faz destruírem a si mesmos, mas, fora isso, são deixados em paz (a menos que se tornem violentos).

Quando humanos resistentes sequestram o jovem Akin, os Oankali escolhem deixar a criança com seus captores para que ele, a mais “humana” das crianças Oankali, decida se os humanos resistentes devem ter sua fertilidade e liberdade devolvidas, mesmo que isso signifique apenas a volta da sua autodestruição.

The visionary author’s masterpiece pulls us—along with her Black female hero—through time to face the horrors of slavery and explore the impacts of racism, sexism, and white supremacy then and now.

Dana, a modern Black woman, is celebrating her 26th birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana’s life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

Há vida inteligente lá fora e é ela que salva a humanidade de si mesma. Quando Lilith Iyapo desperta após 250 anos de animação suspensa, descobre que o planeta Terra e os seres humanos sobreviventes de uma guerra catastrófica estão sob a guarda dos Oankali, uma espécie alienígena com habilidades e tecnologias tão impressionantes quanto sua aparência é repulsiva. Lilith foi escolhida para despertar e preparar outros seres humanos para finalmente retornarem ao planeta natal. A Terra está novamente habitável há pouco, porém em condições bem diferentes do que conheciam. Assim, os humanos precisarão desenvolver suas habilidades de sobrevivência, enquanto Lilith terá que superar as próprias suspeitas para liderá-los nessa nova etapa – além de decidir se vale a pena andar sobre a linha do que nos define como humanos.

The futures of both mankind and an alien species rest in the hands of one hybrid son in the award-winning science fiction author’s masterful sequel to Dawn.

Nuclear war had nearly destroyed mankind when the Oankali came to the rescue, saving humanity—but at a price. The Oankali survive by mixing their DNA with that of other species, and now on Earth they have permitted no child to be born without an Oankali parent. The first true hybrid is a boy named Akin—son of Lilith Iyapo— and to the naked eye he looks human, for now. He is born with extraordinary sensory powers, understanding speech at birth, speaking in sentences at two months old, and soon developing the ability to see at the molecular level. More powerful than any human or Oankali, he will be the architect of both races’ intergalactic future. But before he can carry this new species into the stars, Akin must decide which unlucky souls will stay behind.

At once a coming-of-age story, science fiction adventure, and philosophical exploration, Butler’s ambitious and breathtaking novel ultimately raises the question of what it means to be human.

A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award.

Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself?

Like all of Octavia Butler’s best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature’s strongest voices.

Asha was born into a broken world. There are many things she needs to know: how her country could embrace a violent, far-right President promising to make America great again, why they turned a blind eye to the suffering – and the truth about her mother.

In her journals, Lauren Olamina tells of a great love divided between her young daughter, her community and the revelation that led her to found a new faith that teaches ‘God Is Change’. But under a tyrannical religious regime who consider the mere existence of a black female leader a threat, Lauren knows she must soon either sacrifice her daughter and her followers – or forsake the beliefs that could transform human destiny.