Lit. of Fantasy, Horror and Sci-Fi: Bloodchild

"Bloodchild"

1. My initial reaction to this story was "WTF am I reading?" There were so many names I had no idea how to pronounce, I had a hard time figuring out which characters were human and which were not, and the terms weren't immediately defined, leaving me confused at some parts of the story.

2. The connections I made with this story was that a species of worm alien was using people as hosts for their offspring; Gan, the protagonist, ends up being one of these people. Some births don't go well, as seen with the Lomas character. Only certain people are chosen as these hosts; it seems to be a parasitic, symbiotic relationship. Some deem it an honor, others do not.

3. If I had to adapt this into a different medium, it would probably be a short film so those who had a hard time reading (like myself) could understand it better through visuals. The only thing I'd change would be some of the terms and names: T'Gatoi, Tlic, N'Tlic, and others like them. It's only a pain trying to figure out how to pronounce these aloud, let alone in your head.

4. Elements in this story I'd consider afro-futurist is the idea of this Preserve location, where no one is allowed to leave; it reminds me of Divergent in a way. Another is the eggs people are given to drink, since it keeps people young and healthy so they'd be viable hosts for the aliens' offspring. Scientists are working on medicines and elixirs to prolong human life and give benefits like the eggs in this story.

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