Wild Seed (Patternist) [Mass Market Paperback]

Octavia E. Butler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1988

Back in print after five years, this is award-winning Octavia Butler's thrilling paternist novel about a reincarnate and a healer who travel together through exotic lands and centuries of time. Advertising in Locus, Science Fiction Chronicle and Amazing. Reissue.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Octavia E. Butler was the first black woman to come to international prominence as a science fiction writer. Incorporating powerful, spare language and rich, well-developed characters, her work tackled race, gender, religion, poverty, power, politics, and science in a way that touched readers of all backgrounds. Butler was a towering figure in life and in her art and the world noticed; highly acclaimed by reviewers, she received numerous awards, including a MacArthur "genius" grant, both the Hugo and Nebula awards, the Langston Hughes Medal, as well as a PEN Lifetime Achievement award.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (December 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0445205377
• ISBN-13: 978-0445205376
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #998,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006) was the author of many novels, including Dawn, Wild Seed, and Parable of the Sower. She was the recipient of a MacArthur Award and a Nebula Award, and she twice won the Hugo Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece by one of science fiction's greatest voices, October 18, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Seed (Paperback)

"Wild Seed" is one of a series of superb science fiction novels by Octavia E. Butler. This story begins in 1690, and spans Africa and America. At the heart of "Wild Seed" is the enigmatic relationship between two powerful, and seemingly immortal characters: Doro, a sort of energy being who transfers from one host body to another, killing his hosts in the process; and Anyanwu, a shapeshifter who can assume forms of any species, and of either gender.

"Wild Seed" is both a psychologically perspective character study and a profound meditation on power and desire. Butler's philosophical canvas takes in such controversial issues as slavery, race, reproduction, and gender. In addition to being a superb example of the science fiction novel, "Wild Seed" is a stunning historical novel which expands the boundaries of African-American literature. As such, it would make a compelling companion text to such "canonical" novels as Toni Morrison's "Beloved." Also recommended: any of Butler's other outstanding novels, and her collection "Bloodchild and Other Stories."

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, December 13, 1997

By 

Teri Tada ([e-mail]) (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Seed (Patternist) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am not normally a science fiction fan, but this book gripped me from the start and I couldn't put it down. Butler's lean, spare style of writing helps keep the story tightly under control and moving briskly. In addition, her skill at constructing multi-dimensional characters is at it's best in this novel. It isn't easy to make individuals as powerful as Anyanwu and Doro seem like believable people with genuine human emotions, but Butler pulls it off, showing startingly empathy with her characters, especially Anyanwu. The relationship between Doro and Anyanwu is so skillfully done you can't help but think of them as real people. The book is rich with both historical and sci-fi detail and gives the reader an almost overwhelming sense of epic scope while basing the story around a small, intimate cast. Butler is an excellent writer and this is arguably her finest effort -- a good book to start with if you haven't read her before.
--Teri

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the sheer power of imagination, July 26, 2000

By 

L. Rephann "curious about everything" (Brooklyn, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Seed (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first Octavia Butler book I read, recommended by a friend who is a fan of hers. I was not disappointed. Her "speculative fiction" contains ideas which are only a few degrees removed from our current reality. At the rate humanity is evolving, there may come a time in the future when psychic gifts, immortality, supernatural healing abilities and astral travel are innate characteristics, as opposed to legend or the rare, often disputed examples that exist today.

In this story, Doro and Anyanwu, two powerful beings, cross paths. The core story of Wildseed is the developing and deepening relationship between these two beings, and their relationships to lesser evolved, but still powerful, beings like them. Doro "farms" these poweful beings with rare gifts; he engineers them. Anyanwu just is; she is "wildseed," and occasionally out of Doro's control. Although Anyanwu is female and Doro male, their power, sensitivity, passion, and determination transcend; they are portraits of the most powerful, the most full, that a human spirit can be. Seen as metaphors for human spiritual development, Anyanwu and Doro are the fantasies many of us carry in ourselves, the fantasy of ultimate power, a power of Creation that borders on the divine.

Butler's writing is strong, supple and gorgeous. She's the type of writer than can turn a phrase so beautifully, that you'll read it over several times, letting her insight and creativity sink in. Butler's imagination is wide open. Only a mind totally open could dream up characters such as these.

Although I haven't read any other Butler books, I did buy "Earthseed" to read next. Butler's writing is a gift, a magnificent talent that cuts to the heart of the matter.