Clay's Ark, Octavia Butler, St. Martin's Press, 1984
Set in 21st century California after a general societal collapse, this is the story of physician Blake Maslin and his two teenage daughters, Keira and Rane. They are peacefully kidnapped (if that's possible) by an emaciated group of strangers. Taken to an isolated mountain retreat, they meet Asa Elias Doyle, the last survivor of a failed mission to Proxima Centauri. He came back with a very contagious alien disease that compels the sufferer to spread it to others. While the person looks sick, they have superhuman strength and a very heightened sense of smell. It also causes extreme mutations in unborn children.
The first thought on the minds of Blake and his daughters is escape and getting to a hospital. According to Asa, that is not possible, because there is no cure and the compulsion to spread the disease will take over. Also, unless they are very lucky, they can count on being caught by one of the roving bands of bloodthirsty marauders.
Butler is a very underrated, and very, very good writer. This is a short novel with only a few characters, but it packs a big punch. The author does a terrific job with this one.
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