As the acclaimed Patternist science fiction series begins, two immortals meet in the long-ago past—and mankind’s destiny is changed forever. For a thousand years, Doro has cultivated a small African village, carefully breeding its people in search of seemingly unattainable perfection. He survives through the centuries by stealing the bodies of others, a technique he has so thoroughly mastered … thoroughly mastered that nothing on Earth can kill him. But when a gang of New World slavers destroys his village, ruining his grand experiment, Doro is forced to go west and begin anew. He meets Anyanwu, a centuries-old woman whose means of immortality are as kind as his are cruel. She is a shapeshifter, capable of healing with a kiss, and she recognizes Doro as a tyrant. Though many humans have tried to kill them, these two demi-gods have never before met a rival. Now they begin a struggle that will last centuries and permanently alter the nature of humanity.
Hugo and Nebula award–winning author Octavia E. Butler’s sweeping cross-century epic places her “among the best of contemporary SF writers” (Houston Chronicle). This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author’s estate.
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It’s difficult to say which is Octavia’s best series but this is certainly in the running. A believable premise and a well developed story. I bought Clay’s Ark, part of this series,for a dime at used book sale and that was my introduction to Butler.
First let me say that I am a huge Octavia Butler fan and have read everything she has written except for the Patternist series. Somehow I missed this suite of 4 books. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to review the entire series or individually discuss the books, so I decided to do both.
Wild Seed starts off slowly and did not engage me as fast as Butler’s other books. There is some repetition among chapters and consistent undertone reminding you of the convoluted relationship between Doro, who has lives for centuries using the bodies of others to keep him alive (in the process he kills them) and Anyanwu, a shapeshifter healer who herself has lived for a few hundred years. Doro takes, perhaps abducts is a better word, Anyanwu from Africa to America, to live in one of the settlements he has built in his efforts to create people with special powers.
Although Butler did not write Wild Seed first, she created this prequel to elucidate the beginnings of the world she imaged the rest of this series (Mind of my Mind, Clay’s Ark, and Patternmaster). In order to clearly delineate the beginnings of this world filled with people of special abilities, Butler penned a long but highly readable Wild Seed. She really wanted readers to understand the intricate relationship between Doro and Anyanwu and how it developed over hundreds of years. Hence my 4 stars as I believe this book could have been consolidated a bit, leaving out some of the details in order to spark the reader’s interest and desire to delve into the rest of the series.
I have chosen to read these books in order – I have read other reviewers who did not. However, if this is your first read by Octavia Butler, no matter what you think, read on – or read her other books. She was a rare talent that should not be missed!