Clay's Ark

by Octavia E. Butler

In this bleak work of near-future SF, author Octavia Butler continues to explore the difficult moral compromises made by people who simply want to survive. CLAY’S ARK takes place some years after MIND OF MY MIND, and although it doesn’t share any characters from that book, plot elements from both CLAY’S ARK and MIND OF MY MIND establish the far-future setting of the novel PATTERNMASTER. Rane Maslin; her sister Keira, who’s terminally ill with leukemia; and their father, Blake, are on a road trip to visit the girls’ grandparents in Arizona when they’re kidnapped by a strange group, all infected with a mysterious disease that causes permanent biological and genetic alterations. Their leader is Eli, formerly the geologist on the first starship, Clay’s Ark; he returned with the disease, an alien microorganism that compels its carriers to pass it on to others. According to Eli, once the microorganism incubates within the Maslins, not only will they be unable to escape...they may no longer want to.

Editions of Clay's Ark

ISBN 9780446603706	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Grand Central Pub	Date 1996	Price $2.00	Good
ISBN 9780312143213	Binding/Format Hardcover	Publisher St Martins Pr	Date 1984	Price $5.00	Used - Acceptable
ISBN 9780441110896	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Berkley Pub Group	Date 1985	Price $1.41	Used - Acceptable

Publisher Notes

In a violent near-future, Asa Elias Doyle and her companions encounter an alien life form so heinous and destructive, they exile themselves in the desert so as not to contaminate other humans. To resist the compulsion to infect others is mental agony, but to succumb is to relinquish humanity and free will. Desperate, they kidnap a doctor and his two daughters as they cross the wasteland...and endanger not only their victims, but the world.

Media Reviews

"Suffice it to say that the aliens in CLAY'S ARK are closer to home than most invaders in science fiction, but no less frightening. Yet Mrs. Butler is so even handed in her characterizations and so accomplished in her action scenes that each radical reassessment of the situation served to widen and deepen my sympathies.
Life as we know it struggles to survive, often at the expense of its neighbors. Can an Earthbound morality embrace the imperative of survival on a cosmic scale even as its home base is being violated by the competition? Readers familiar with Ms. Butler's earlier books, like PARABLE OF THE SOWER and BLOODCHILD will recall that she never asks easy questions or settles for easy answers."