Blood Child & Other Stories by Octavia Butler

Blood Child & Other Stories (2nd edition) by Octavia Butler was published in 2005, and includes two stories not in the original edition along with comments on the stories by Butler. The first story in the collection is "Bloodchild".

"Bloodchild" is the story of a young boy who is a member of a family of humans living on a kind of reservation for humans. The humans live on a planet largely populated by more powerful beings, who have formed a symbiotic relationship with their human wards. Gan (the boy telling the story) is writing about his last night of childhood--the last night before he will become linked to his symbiont/protector. There are some interesting echoes of this story in Butler's vampire novel, Fledgeling.

"The Evening and the Morning and the Night" is the story of two college-aged people who are latent inheritors of a genetic disease and their visit to a retreat/asylum for people who have developed the full-blown disease.

In "Near of Kin" a young woman is sorting through the belongings of her recently deceased mother, from whom she was estranged, in the company of a beloved uncle.

"Speech Sounds" is a post-apocalyptic story that begins with a woman riding on a bus.

"Crossover" tells the story of a woman whose unfortunate appearance colors her perception of the world.

"Positive Obsession" is an essay on writing, as is "Furor Scribendi."

"Amnesty" is a story about learning to understand aliens.

"Martha" is a what-if story about a woman allowed the power of God.