Clay's Ark

By: Octavia E. Butler

Narrated by: Robin Miles

A powerful story of survival in unprecedented times, from the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower.
In an alternate America marked by volatile class warfare, Blake Maslin is traveling with his teenage twin daughters when their car is ambushed. Their attackers appear sickly yet possess inhuman strength, and they transport Blake's family to an isolated compound. There, the three captives discover that the compound's residents have a highly contagious alien disease that has mutated their DNA to make them powerful, dangerous, and compelled to infect others. If Blake and his daughters do not escape, they will be infected with a virus that will either kill them outright or transform them into outcasts whose very existence is a threat to the world around them.
In the following hours, Blake and his daughters each must make a vital choice: risk everything to escape and warn the rest of the world, or accept their new reality -- as well as the uncertain fate of the human race.

Critic reviews

PRAISE FOR OCTAVIA E. BUTLER'S NOVELS

"Brilliant, endlessly rich...pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale."—John Green, New York Times(on Parable of the Sower)

"Wild Seed is a book that shifted my life . . . It is as epic, as game-changing, as moving and brilliant as any science fiction novel ever written."—Viola Davis

"An internationally acclaimed science fiction writer whose evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human."—New York Times

"If we're talking must-read authors like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, the one-and-only Octavia Butler needs be a part of the conversation. The groundbreaking sci-fi and speculative fiction author was a master of spinning imaginative tales that introduced you to both the possibilities -- and dangers -- of the human race, all while offering lessons on tribalism, race, gender, and sexuality."—O, The Oprah Magazine

"A revolutionary voice in her lifetime, Butler has only become more popular and influential . . . A generation of younger writers cite her as an influence, from Jemisin and Tochi Onyebuchi to Marlon James and Nnedi Okarafor . . .She is now praised as a visionary who anticipated many of the issues in the news today, from the coronavirus to climate change to the election of President Donald Trump."—Associated Press

"More than any novel I've ever read, Octavia Butler's Wild Seed examines power, what it means to wield it responsibly and what it means to resist it when it is wielded capriciously."—Rion Amilcar Scott, PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize-winning author of Insurrections

"In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time, Octavia Butler's 'Parable' books may be unmatched."—New Yorker (on Parableof the Sower)

"Butler is one of the finest voices in fiction-period . . . A master storyteller with a voice that cradles and captivates, Butler casts an unflinching eye on racism, sexism, poverty and ignorance, and lets the reader see the terror and beauty of human nature."—Washington Post Book World

"Haunting . . . apocalyptic . . . compelling."—Essence

Totally triggering

If you have a throat thing, there is a rough scene in the last hour of the book. Brilliant book. I am listening to this in November of 2023, and she was not far off in imagining 2021. It’s brilliant and terrifying and disturbing and completely unflinching. This was the hardest one in the series for me personally. And Wild Seed was pretty dark as well. Overall, masterful.

Fantastic

Great concept. Developed well interesting characters. Loved it. Wish there was a sequel. I love everything Ms Butler has written.

It Octavia

It is a story by Octavia E. Butler, I know what else the is to say but enjoy 😔

Captivating!

her books are amazing!! this story is no different. Riveting story lines that keep you on the edge of your seat and have you wondering who are really the good guys! a lot of people feel this book is a departure from the other 2 in the Patternist trilogy, but I think it is a great way to tie in all the books! I feel like this book is also a continuation from Earth Seed which sent humans to the alien planet at the end. I felt like Clay was a descendant from Olamina's Earth Seed tribe even though it wasn't explicitly said because it was the same alien planet mentioned in Earth Seed and the space colony was a culmination of Olamina's dream. I felt like this booked weaved Earthseed's post-apocalyptic California and space travel nicely into the "Patternist" world. I highly recommend listening to the Earthseed series before getting into the Patternist series

A world of people in one voice

One of my favorite authors. One of my favorite stories. Octavia Butler was so talented!
The performance was extremely well done, bringing to life ordinary people living through extraordinary events.