RIP: Octavia Butler

Noted science fiction author Octavia Butler has died following a fall outside her Seattle-area home. Her work was both intensely political and personal, providing a much-needed voice that was unafraid to discuss race, gender, or class - and often all three at once. From her obituary in the Seattle P-I:

SEATTLE -- Octavia E. Butler, the first black woman to gain national prominence as a science fiction writer, died after falling and striking her head on the cobbled walkway outside her home, a close friend said Sunday. She was 58. Butler was found outside her home in the north Seattle suburb of Lake Forest Park on Friday. She had suffered from high blood pressure and heart trouble and could only take a few steps without stopping for breath, said Leslie Howle, who knew Butler for two decades and works at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle. Butler's work wasn't preoccupied with robots and ray guns, Howle said, but used the genre's artistic freedom to explore race, poverty, politics, religion and human nature. "She stands alone for what she did," Howle said. "She was such a beacon and a light in that way."

There are so many tributes to her tonight, I don't even know where to point you - Steven Barnes and Cory Doctrow are a couple of writers I like, but there are many, many others sharing their thoughts about her passing tonight. Hers was a unique voice that will not be easily replaced. UPDATE: Neil Gaiman, more Steven Barnes, John Marshall (one of the Seattle P-I's book critics). [via Atrios]