<i>The Bloomsbury Handbook to Octavia E. Butler</i>is compelling overview of the work of this vital writer. Equally attentive to her contributions to speculative fiction, African American studies, and theoretical work concerns with social justice, the essays collected here attest to Butler’s complexity and range. Bookended by two personal reflections from Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due, important authors themselves, it further provides a glimpse of the thoughtful person behind the powerful fiction. <i>The Bloomsbury Handbook</i>offers new insights into Butler’s most discussed fiction, such as her <i>Xenogenesis </i>trilogy and <i>Parables</i>novels, and brings needed critical attention to the entire body of her work, including the out-of-print novel <i>Survivor </i>and unpublished material now available in archival papers. An indispensable overview of Butler’s status as one of the most important novelists of her era, this <i>Handbook</i>brings together essays from an impressive range of disciplinary frameworks—literature, neuroscience, biopolitics, disability studies, posthumanist theory, fan studies, postcolonial theory, and visual arts. The volume includes reflections on the challenges and promises of teaching Butler’s fiction in undergraduate classrooms and ones that engage how Butler’s ideas have become foundational for ongoing work in antiracist activism. This fascinating collection makes clear that Butler speaks both to her own time and to ours. In both Butler’s fiction and in the scholarship assembled her, hope shines through even as the works clear-sightedly address the darkness of our world.

Sherryl Vint, Director of the Speculative Fictions and Cultures of Science program, University of California, Riverside, USA

This volume marks a significant contribution to the scholarship on Octavia E. Butler. The editors have assembled and expertly curated articles on Butler’s work, ranging from personal recollections by fellow writers and themes which occupied Butler’s thinking, to her theorizing on colonialism, post humanism, and the meanings of consent under conditions of unequal distribution of power. By situating Butler’s appeal and significance to new movements for racial and gender equality, new interpretations of Butler’s work are brought to light demonstrating Butler’s capacity to shed light on the human condition. This volume forms a rich interpretative and interdisciplinary tapestry which will provoke and inspire future research on one of the most significant writers of the 20th century.

Hoda Zaki, Professor of Political Science, Hood College, USA

The impressively interdisciplinary scope of the collection—which includes the work of scholars of science fiction, fan studies, postcolonial theory, and Black studies, among many other fields—along with its focus on the work of emerging scholars makes this an exciting contribution to the critical conversation surrounding Butler’s writing.

Modern Language Review