We will be discussing a short horror story written by Octavia Butler.
The story, entitled Bloodchild, explores the relationship between a colony of humans in space and their alien hosts, known as the Tlic. The story develops this dynamic by focusing on the experiences of the narrator, his family, and his Tlic partner, exploring themes of power, autonomy, and manufactured dependence.
Content warning: From descriptions in the text, the Tlic are essentially humanoid centipedes, and reproduce parasitically. This may be disturbing to those with a fear of bugs. The story also involves scenes and discussions of body horror, which may be disturbing to those with bodies. Please proceed with caution, and feel free to skip this reading if you find the subject matter needlessly upsetting.
For those still interested in reading Bloodchild, it can be obtained here as a PDF:
As always, we meet at Camas Books and Infoshop, 2620 Quadra Street, on unceded Lekwungen Territory at 6:30pm on Sunday July 7th.