A little more than a year ago, Octavia Butler passed away. She was one of the most gifted writers of the present day, and I had been able to read all of her published novels except one. Only recently, have I finally been able to finish the collection of her novels by reading Survivor. This is a novel that Butler has stated publicly that she has disliked, but her declaration only increased my curiosity about this work — or in the words of Butler, “Innocent dangerous curiosity.” Nevertheless, I sought out the book and have now completed it, and below I will share my thoughts about this work. I must warn any readers, though, that as a fan of Butler’s work, I do not approach this novel with the same gaze as someone who is unfamiliar with this writer.
In Survivor, a group of humans flees from Earth on a spaceship and lands on a planet inhabited by a fur-covered humanoids known as the Kohn. One tribe of the Kohn, the Garkohn, become allies of the human settlement while the enemies of the Garkohn, the Tehkohn, raid their town. However, when one of the humans, Alanna, is kidnapped by the Tehkohn, she adapts herself to survive with them, and begins to discover that the Garkohn are not as benevolent as they seem. Upon her rescue, she begins to implement a plan to ensure the freedom of the missionaries and to allow them to continue what they see as their mission — to spread the “image” of humanity throughout the universe.
On one hand this is clearly one of Butler’s earlier works. She engages in obvious exposition more in this work than in later ones, although even with the explanations provided for the reader’s benefit, this novel can be confusing until one pieces together the entire narrative. Like Patternmaster, many of its most interesting ideas are touched upon but not explored and there is a sense that Survivor does not devote enough words to its characters to have them develop. Unlike Patternmaster, though, this novel is a better example Butler’s use of social critque through the lens of science fiction, even if it does seem rather heavy-handed due to its relative brevity.
On the other hand, this is also one of Butler’s better works, in my opinion, because there are many layers to this book. One of the better aspects of this novel is that it does not begin linearly, but instead forces the reader to experience the same confusion that its main characters feel when their beliefs are challenged. This is important because it helps reader connect with the Kohn — a species purposely more “human” in both shape and attitudes than the extraterrestrials of Butler’s later work, the Oankali. There are also echoes of a later novel Parable of the Talents, with both the non-linearity of the narrative and the destructive power of religion. In the Parable of the Talents, religious fundamentalism is attacked more thoroughly and effectively, but Survivor presents a more balanced, if still critical, view of the roles beliefs play in people’s lives. In Survivor, though, it is the passive acceptance of one’s beliefs that is argued against rather than those beliefs itself.
As in nearly all of Butler’s novels there is a great deal of action and violence, although the graphic details of death in her later work (specifically the Parable novels) are not present here. I envy the way she is able to shape language and provide tension in a compelling narrative.
In short, I would recommend this novel, but only to anyone who has read all the other novels in the Patternist series, recently released in the Seed to Harvest compilation. Unlike the other novels, it cannot stand on its own. There are too many references and brief explanations of aspects that are important to the context of the plot to read it without at least a degree of familiarity to what happens before and after this work. Nevertheless, this is a great read, and a perfect way to complete Butler’s novels.
