Few authors loom as large over modern speculative fiction as Octavia Butler, a writer whose clarity, compassion, and fierce imagination forever altered what speculative fiction could do. For readers seeking stories that challenge, unsettle, and illuminate, Butler remains an essential voice. With this latest Librarian Selection, we’re pulling together the tools you need to approach her work with confidence: a curated overview, a reading order of her major contributions, and the themes that knit her novels and stories together.