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Clay's Ark
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
24 posts | 30 read | 17 to read
In a frightening near future, an alien disease is poised to become a devastating global epidemicunless someone can stop it Blake Maslin and his two daughters are driving to Flagstaff when bandits swarm their car. At gunpoint, the marauders kidnap one of Blakes children, promising to keep her safe in return for medical care. Warily, the doctor goes with them, not realizing that he has just taken the first step down a terrifying path that will consume his life. The gunmen take him deep into the desert, to a colony of people infected with a gruesome alien disease. It causes weakness, sallow skin, and birth defects so horrible that the children who suffer them cannot rightly be called human. The victims have quarantined themselves in the desert lest their illness spread and doom mankind. But as their willingness to accept isolation falters, Blake becomes the last hope for the survival of an uncontaminated Earth. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the authors estate.
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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#20in4 #reaadathon @Andrew65 Wrapup!

Goals-
20 hours audio - Wives and Daughters (turns out Scrib doesn't like my hikes, so 9 hours of this and 7 hours of Palace of Illusions) 🎧 16/20 Finished Palace ✔
20 chapters of Clays Arc ✔ Finished!
20 chapters Trespasses (📙 10/20)
20 pages of Pattermaster - was not feeling this title so read 20 pages of The Vaster Wilds ✔

kspenmoll Let me know what you think of Trespasses - it‘s on my shelf. Fabulous reading! (edited) 1y
Andrew65 Excellent, well done and thanks for playing along 👏👏👏🙌🥳🍾🥂 1y
ChaoticMissAdventures @kspenmoll it is really good, I originally picked it up for the Women's Prize for Fiction - this is on the short list. I keep picking it up and putting it down, but when I am reading it I enjoy it. The writing is easy to read, but the story itself is a bit slow. if that makes sense. 1y
20 likes3 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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I didn't update yesterday because I was so so close to finishing a book then fell asleep!

My goals:
20 hours of Wives and Daughters - 6 hours down
20 chapters of Clays Ark ✔️
20 hours Trespasses - starting today
20 pages of Pattermaster - after Clay's Ark I need a break from Butler, so changing the start book to something I feel like reading after Trespasses is

#20in4 #readathon @Andrew65

Andrew65 I know that feeling! Doing well 👏👏👏 1y
21 likes1 comment
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Panpan

I had thought I was going to read all of Butler's work this year but this volume has really turned me off from her.
This was brutal. Lots of talk about and on page rape. Lots of other violence too, the end chapters are nothing but. The characters have been taken over by a disease that makes them want to breed - against their hosts wishes. This whole book left me wondering why I was reading.
It is an easy grammatically to read book though.

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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I am a bit confused with this book. It is #3 in a series but seems to have nothing in common with the other books. Reading on GR that this was published last (#5 but listed in the republication as #3).
Has anyone read this? Does Doro show up eventually? There was a man named Clay in book 2 but this does not seem to be connected to him?
Also I can't seem to find book 4 anywhere? It seems it is the only one they randomly stopped publishing?

swynn According to Wikipedia, Butler didn't like Survivor, and "declined to bring it back into print." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patternist_series 1y
ChaoticMissAdventures @swynn oh interesting. After the ones I have read I would have asked this one not be brought back, so thank you so interested to read this and find her limit 1y
30 likes2 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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#weeklyforecast I have Thistlefoot on audio I also have an ARC of Naomi Alderman's The Future (author of The Power). Hoping to get through most of these, I am super busy next weekend with throwing my parents a joint 70th Birthday party so we will see how this goes!

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Kanarthi
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
Mehso-so

Once again, intriguing world building. Chapters alternate between past and present timelines describing an alien disease spreading through small communities. The ideas brought up were interesting, but the final climax was abrupt and generic by comparison. Much better themes than patternmaster: consensus, interdependency, free will vs biological imperatives, etc.

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underground_bks
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Pickpick

It helps to have a cute kitten around when reading this third book in the Patternist series. Clay‘s Ark is as disturbing as it is propulsive. It was fascinating to read this at the same time as Midnight Sun—both feature parasitic nonhumans with super speed & strength, an emphasis on family, and mutant kids, but where Meyer sees sparkles, Butler sees horror, humanity, survival. Hard one to rate, a lot depends on the final book in the series to me.

underground_bks Meyer seems awfully invested in the whiteness of Bella and Edward. Meanwhile, Butler is of course exploring race much more critically and thoughtfully. (edited) 4y
charl08 Aw 🤩 4y
underground_bks @charl08 she‘s a cutie and a great reading companion! 4y
See All 11 Comments
AmyG She is too cute! 4y
Kanarthi I'm curious what you'll think of Patternmaster -- the impression I had is that the lower your expectations, the better.... It's not bad, but it's much less complex. 4y
underground_bks @Kanarthi yeah, I think so much of this series‘ flaws are simply because the chronology is so unusual. So I‘m trying to age my expectations backward as I read! I don‘t know that I would recommend starting with Wild Seed to someone else, just because so far it‘s the absolute best and a bit downhill from there. 4y
Kanarthi @underground_bks I don't know why the omnibus I have puts everything in chronological order? I'm pretty happy that I decided to start with Patternmaster, which is why I'm curious about what it's like to read the collection through in chronological order. 4y
underground_bks @Kanarthi Do you have the Seed to Harvest omnibus? That‘s what I‘m reading :) 4y
Kanarthi @underground_bks exactly, the ebook version of seed to harvest 4y
Kanarthi @underground_bks just have Mind of My Mind left to read 4y
22 likes11 comments
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Eggs
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Panpan

Halfway through I realized this book was part 3 of series...🤪 which explains some of my disenchantment. Dystopian with gratuitous sexual assault is tough to read

#authoramonth2020 @Soubhiville

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xicanti
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Mehso-so

Oh, friends. I sort of appreciate CLAY‘S ARK, but I don‘t like it, and I‘m pretty sure the longer I‘ll sit with it, the stronger that feeling will grow.

Part of it‘s down to a rape scene close to the end. Most of it‘s because the first two books promised a particular kind of story and CLAY‘S ARK upsets that trajectory. It examines one massive consequence of the Pattern‘s work, and in doing so it changes the nature of the series. ⬇️

xicanti That‘s not necessarily a bad thing. I applaud authors who shake things up instead of telling the same story over and over. Unfortunately, I‘m WAY less interested in this new focus than I was in the one WILD SEED and MIND OF MY MIND led me to expect.

So I‘m sat here disappointed.
5y
uwak Oof I feel this. Gratuitous sexual assault in anything really brings my opinion down several notches regardless of anything else 😖 5y
xicanti @uwak the scene happened so close to the end, and was so horrific, that it‘s tainted the whole book for me. Butler does build the threat into her world and leave it hanging over the characters from the very beginning, but I really wish she‘d used other means to convey the dire straights they were in. 5y
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xicanti
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Pain day. Blah. I read in bed for a while, then had cream cheese waffles and coffee in my lying mug while I read some more.

CLAY‘S ARC is good so far—it‘s a different take on alien abduction/invasion—but it hasn‘t engaged me as quickly as the first two Patternist books did. I‘m hoping it‘s one of those slow burn things that‘ll click into place all at once and leave me unable to tear myself away.

Eggbeater I hope your pain eases up. I totally get pain days. 💕 5y
Sace Hope you get to feeling better. 5y
xicanti @Eggbeater @Sace ❤️❤️ 5y
37 likes3 comments
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Liatrek
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Pickpick

I don‘t know exactly how I feel about this entry since it really doesn‘t feel connected to the first two books. It was a quick read and I‘m curious how the next book will tie this together.

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Liatrek
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Finally starting Clays Ark to finish the Patternist series in honor of Octavia Butlers birthday ❤️ I think these are the last two books of hers I haven‘t read and I‘ve been trying to stretch them out 😊

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Kathrin
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Mehso-so

How does this volume go at all with the first two books of the Patternist Series? While I was looking for connections, I might have missed the point.

Let‘s see if the last book ties everything together.

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Pedrocamacho
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Mehso-so

Book 3 in the Patternist series (but the last to be published), “Clay‘s Ark” feels out of sync with the first two books. In fact, it reads like half of the backstory for the final book. I still enjoyed it. I‘m excited for “Patternmaster”!

cathipink You are so speedy! 6y
Pedrocamacho @cathipink The final two books are pretty short 😊 6y
cataleya Hello pedro do you read in spanish? 6y
4 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Bookish.Leftist.Auntie
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Pickpick

Disclaimer: This addition to the series is nothing like the other two.
Triggers: Rape

Clay's Ark is definitely an interesting read with some good characters. I do recommend the book but I'll admit it's not my favorite of the series. It honestly felt a bit cliche in several aspects, including the end. I do hope the last book ties everything together. That being said, OEB is still QUEEN!

🌟🌟🌟☄

Bookish.Leftist.Auntie The cliche being the sickest, weakest member of the family survives. Of course, she is also the most tolerant and most quickly accepting of her those holding her captive. 6y
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shendrix413
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Pickpick

This next part of the Patternist series was engrossing, like the other two. It had a couple of the characters from the second book, but the books didn't really tie together too much other than that. I'm hoping the last book ties it all together. ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
Trigger warning : rape, child abuse

CaitlinR Must read the series. Sounds great 7y
52 likes1 comment
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BookishJess02
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
This post contains spoilers
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Pickpick

Once you read Octavia Butler, she won't let you go until the last page. Her writing is too magical and mesmerizing.

I've been spoiled by X-Men, Inhumans, Metahumans, and superhero origin stories. Because of them, I expect a showdown between the Clay's Ark people and the Patternists in the last book. From what I've read of Butler's stories she doesn't take the well-used paths though. So I suspect my desire for this showdown may go unfulfilled.

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Sweettartlaura
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Pickpick

I joined the local bookstore‘s Octavia Butler Book Club. We‘re working through the Patternist series. This month it‘s Clay‘s Ark.
While I loved this book, I don‘t see how it connects to Doro, Anyanwu, et al., beyond the Clay Dana connection. Is this what we‘re supposed to understand was Doro‘s origin? If so, is that cleared up in Patternmaster???

amvs1111 Things are mostly cleared up in the final book, which was, interestingly, written and released first. Clay's Ark was my least favorite of the series. 7y
2BR02B Wow, I'm jealous. I'd love to join an Octavia Butler book club. 7y
Sweettartlaura @amvs1111 Thanks - that‘s good to know. 7y
Sweettartlaura @2BR02B It is pretty awesome. It‘s perfect because she has 12 books, so it will take us a year. It‘s a neat plan. 7y
47 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Merchgal
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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I absolutely loved Book 2 (Mind of my Mind). Now on to Book 3 of the Patternist series #OctaviaButler

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TheNextBook
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
Pickpick

Dammit guys. I finished this in a day! I have no idea how the events of this book feed into the Patternist series but damn if I'm not ready to start this next book. An organism that can infect and control humans making them non humans and a small enclave of the infected trying to stop the infection from spreading while also trying to hold on to some of their humanity. Incredible and so damn original...

Nebklvr Ahhh...book love! It is rare and wonderful! 8y
70 likes1 stack add1 comment
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TheNextBook
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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And here I am, on to the third novel of this series... I can't get enough...

Riveted_Reader_Melissa That's how I was with her other series I've read! 8y
TheNextBook @Riveted_Reader_Melissa She had such an addicting writing style! 8y
63 likes2 comments
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AlienBritt
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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Pickpick

Loved this book so much!!! The writing is easy to read but amazingly evocative. It's amazing what Butler can say in few words and create so much context and feeling. Also creates a very interesting picture of the future. Really awesome book!

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melissa.in.books
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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I found these gems at the house of books. Octavia Butler books are so hard to find and I love the cover art on the paperbacks of older sci-fi novels. #octaviabutler #bookstore #books #scifi #scifibookcovers

SuperPunkNinja Ooh! I've never heard of Clay's Ark before. 8y
Liatrek Love finding the older cover for books😊 8y
Lesliereads 😍 8y
melissa.in.books Old covers are the best! 8y
melissa.in.books @McShelfington It's one of the books in the Patternist / Seed to Harvest Series. I read it a while ago, but couldn't resist picking up this copy. The old covers are fantastic! 8y
6 likes5 comments
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AlienBritt
Clay's Ark | Octavia E. Butler
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My other three used book store finds from my post appointment bookstore adventure! Been meaning to check out one of the city's bookstores for a while, so happy to finally got to go today!