Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: This was an excellent book. I am not a sience fiction fan, but a historian. The author does an excellent job of making you feel & understand the plight of the slaves and the changes that have occured over the centuries. The time travel only lends to the excitment. I found myseldf anticpating her next "transtion" and not wanting the book to end. will defintely be a re-read in the future.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down!!
Review: When I first picked up this book I was a little suspicious of it. I usually don't read science fiction at all, but this particular book looked interesting. I gave it a shot, and WOW, was i surprised. I loved it! Personally I like to read about life during the mid 1800's, and about slave life, so it was just the book for me. It had very good descriptions and Butler wrote the science fiction parts so that when you're reading them, you don't even realize that it is science fiction. Throughout the book you continually find yourself wondering if you should want Dana to help Rufus or not. Rufus is selfish and is turning out to be just like his atrocious father, but then sometimes he can be really sweet. Dana is struggling with this too. I don't want to give away the ending, but I would definitely recomend it to anyone (boy or girl, any race). I will definitely be re-reading this book!
Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK IS THE (***)
Review: On a more serious note, KINDRED is one of the most intriguing, well-written, and historically educational novels that I have ever read. I am a freshman in college, and I've read this book four times over the past year-and-a-half, the first time as an assignment and the latter three for fun (sounds odd, but trust me, it's true!). I won't go into an in-depth summary, so suffice it to say that KINDRED illuminates the lives of a family of slaves in the South spanning multiple centuries. It is written, however, from the point of view of a modern woman. It explores issues of slave communities, interracial relationships, and the outside perspective in a completely ineffable way. This sci/historical-fi book is completely absorbing, so be prepared to read it all in one sitting - the first page grabs you and leaves you hungry for more. Please, please take a chance on this book - I guarantee that even the pickiest readers will enjoy the journey.
Rating:
Summary: Kindred
Review: Octavia Butler is a fascinating author who majestically portrayed the mysticalism of science fiction with the harsh reality of slavery.
Rating: 
Summary: Great read
Review: This was an entertaining, educational, and well-written book. I give it four stars because, until the middle of the book, it hadn't completely "captured" me. I found the story believeable, the characters well developed and consistent throughout, and the suspense rather tangible. I do wish Ms. Butler had found an explanation for the time travel. It wouldn't even have to work in the physics sense, but in the paranormal sense just to satisfy those of us who always need to know, "but how?" Failure to define or explain the reasons for the time travel was very slightly distracting, contributing to the missing star. On all other points, an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: The coupling of Science Fiction and Social Consciousness!
Review: I will admit, when it comes to science fiction, I have always been a tad on the prejudice side. I never believed that couched within these intricate stories of the supernatural that there could ever be any type of relevance to the stories, let alone social commentary that would explore issues that would prove to be relevant to me, an African American female. Well, I am admitting my error with my first, truly fullfilling brush with the science fiction genre through Octavia E. Butler's novel, KINDRED. This book, like all of Ms Butler's books,forces the reader to step outside of his/her comfort zone and challenge all biases, prejudices and fears. There is not an African American alive who has not played around with the notion of "how would I have handled being a slave." Ms. Butler has supplied one possible answer. She illustrates in ways that only she is capable of ilustrating that bottomline, when thrust into our darkest nightmare, the mode of operation for most of us would be the same...surviving at all cost.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent read, but by no means a classic.
Review: Kindred is an adequate Sci-Fi story with a twist: it's a political statement on racism and slavery in America. Because of this, there is the obvious temptation to rate this book highly simply because of its subject matter, ignoring all else. While the subject matter considered in Kindred is certainly socially relevant, the story itself isn't necessarily as good as some have made it out to be. Though the writing flows well and is engaging enough to keep the reader interested, Kindred relies almost entirely on the trite Sci-Fi "time shift" structure we've all seen in far too many episodes of Star Trek. Furthermore, though the detail is accurate, I found the author's treatment of the material to be somewhat contrived and even precious at times. Though many readers and reviewers here and elsewhere have given this story rave reviews, I feel that on the fiction-writing mertis alone this story probably only deserves three-and-a-half stars. Those who feel this is a five star novel are, in my opinion, rating the underlying message rather than the entertainment value. Not that I think it's a bad message -- I just think it is better delivered in nonfiction works. Here both the historical clarity of nonfiction and the entertainment value of fiction have been dulled.
Rating:
Summary: It pulls you in from page one!
Review: What a sensational read! It has everything: intrigue, adventure, history, honor and glory and a whole lot more! I could not put this one down until the last page. It held me from beginning to end and then I wanted more.
Rating:
Summary: Exposure to the truth won't let you sleep
Review: When I first heard of Kindred, I was an undergraduate student listening to friends discuss it. I now wish I'd paid more attention to that discussion. For me Kindred was one of the only novels that actually had me scarred to turn the next page. I had no clue what to expect from any of the characters, as this was not like any of Butler's other novels. Additionally, I could identify with the late 20th century thoughts of an African-American being teleported back in time. If there was nothing else I identified with in this novel, it was that no matter how much someone says they're not like their ancestors, somewhere along the line they are genetically inclined to display some of those traits. Thus, the current situation in the world today. Buy this book and read it without any expectations. Enjoy it, tremble from it, and share it with others.
Rating:
Summary: VERY DISTURBING
Review: Although I have several novels by Miss Butler in my library, this the first one I have read. The ambivalence of the male protagonist , Rufus, was bewildering. If we are products of our environment, he surely was. He learned lessons well from his Daddy. The more Dana helped him, the more crueler he became. The scenes where punishment was dealt out to the slaves were very realistic. The beatings especially,I could feel the sting of the whip as it was being weilded. The characters were well defined and the plot moved smoothly and the dialogue was crisp and to the point. The ending was inevitable, but he journey was worth the trip.
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