'“Haunting, apocalyptic, compelling. . . . Butler’s prose is sharp and lucid, and Clay’s Ark offers a complex rendering of the interior journeys of characters dragging themselves across a violent and lethal future world.” —Essence “Exceptional. . . . Butler is a realist, writing the most detailed social criticism and creating some of the most fascinating female characters in the genre.” —The Village Voice “One of science fiction’s finest writers.” —The New York Times'