Marginal Revolution: Octavia Butler, the Outsider Who Changed Science Fiction

Marginal Revolution: Octavia Butler, the Outsider Who Changed Science Fiction:


…her work went far beyond simply mourning the victim. She showed us why repulsion cannot be avoided, why we often resemble what we hate, and why it is sometimes our best qualities that prevent us from accepting the differences of others. Her ability to both understand the outsider perspective better than others and then to invert it, places Butler above her science-fiction-writing peers. She is a disturbing and important writer who transcends the usual genre categories.

Tyler nails it perfectly.

In my time writing and working with the Science Fiction Writers of America, I got the chance to meet and spend time with many of writers of the field. I only met Octavia a couple of times, but she was always a gracious, open and including person, and fascinating to listen to and be around.

I’m saddened to know she’s gone.

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