![Seed to Harvest: The Complete Patternist Series (The Patternist Series) by [Butler, Octavia E.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51VY7KemoIL._SY346_.jpg)
The first book I read by Butler was Fledgling and I enjoyed it a lot, but it was Lilith's Brood(Xenogenesis) that truly blew me away and made me a fan. Butler crafts some of the most compelling, and in-depth science fiction I have ever read.
Seed to Harvest includes four related novels in the Patternist series: Wild Seed, Mind of my Ming, Clay’s Ark and Patternmaster. First, I have to say I am grateful for this omnibus edition because otherwise I might have read them in published order, whereas this collection is done in chronological order. I think it’s better this way. Patternmaster was the first book Butler published, and it throws readers directly into a very different and strange world than the one we know. The other three books show how we got there and I think it makes for a better reading experience.
WILD SEED is the tale of Anyanwu, an African woman who can heal herself of any injury and is seemingly immortal. She is discovered by Doro, a being who has lived for millennia but at the expense of countless lives. He intends to create a master race of humans through careful breeding. He finds those gifted with psychic abilities and brings them together, and he wants Anyanwu as part of that plan. The two of them are at odds, but also drawn to each other- living embodiments of life and death. Butler’s characters are fully developed and come alive off the pages.
MIND OF MY MIND introduces Mary, who may be the key to creating Doro’s master race. Mary is the first powerful telepath born who is not driven insane by her gift. She uses it to create The Pattern, which binds her people together. Only, Doro may have gotten more than he bargained for when he realizes he’s not part of that master race. I think this is the best book of the four – I read it straight through because it was so creative and the characters so interesting.
CLAY’S ARK is where things get a little…weird. Wild Seed and Mind of my Mind were tightly connected stories, tied together by Anyanwu and Doro. Clay’s Ark introduces brand new characters and a new story-telling structure which swaps between present day and the past. The book appears completely unrelated to the two books that come before it, but is a critical bridge to Patternmaster. A father and his two older teen daughters are accosted on the highway and taken prisoner. Eli calmly informs that that he is carrying a disease that they now have, and will come to accept. Naturally, they don’t want to accept it and try to escape, with global consequences. In the prior two books, Doro hinted that his master race is going to be needed for a purpose. One that is finally revealed in the final book.
PATTERNMASTER opens with a surprise attack on the Rayal, the Patternmaster, by Clayarks. These two species have been at war for decades, and the Clayarks realize killing Rayal is the key to winning. The story then moves to Teray, one of many sons of the Patternmaster His mental abilities are very strong, perhaps even strong enough to allow him hold The Pattern one day. This is something Coransee cannot allow, for he wants the Pattern for himself.
Overall, I didn’t find Seed to Harvest to be quite as good as Lilith’s Brood, mainly because of the conclusion. Lilith’s Brood has more closure while Seed to Harvest is left more or less in a stalemate. It’s almost as if Butler intended there to be another book (and perhaps the long out of print “Survivor” is that book). Still, I thought this was a brilliant, rich saga that pulls a reader in and keeps them long after the final page. Highly recommended.
- File Size: 6270 KB
- Print Length: 788 pages
- Publisher: Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (July 24, 2012)
- Publication Date: July 24, 2012
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B008HALOVO
- Text-to-Speech:
Enabled
- Word Wise: Enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#16,826 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #27 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books)
- #338 in Saga Fiction
- #33 in Alternative History
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