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juushikaTitle: Wild Seed (Patternmaster Book 1)
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Published: New York: Open Road, 2012 (1980)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 320
Total Page Count: 177,275
Text Number: 519
Read Because: fan of the author, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Doro is an ancient being who lives by stealing the bodies of others. When he discovers Anyanwu, a shapeshifter with immaculate control, he is determined to integrate her into his wide-ranging breeding program for individuals with strange gifts. Butler's work is one part high-concept sci-fi and one part conversations about power, consent, and intimacy. Wild Seed lacks the distinct concept of her other work, like aliens (Xenogenesis) or vampires (Fledgling); the premise takes longer to establish, and so the book has no immediate hook. Without that readability, the power dynamics are joyless indeed. But as the books develops narrative momentum: what a success. These protagonists are more complex than Butler's norm and the swings between their points of view are intentionally unsettling; their situation is less victim to arbitrary and inviolate rules. The result is a book with a wide scope, encompassing an expansive secondary cast, continents and decades, and race issues, and a keen, unforgiving focus which has more nuance and better success than Butler's other novels. It's not my favorite Butler, but it is probably her best.
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Published: New York: Open Road, 2012 (1980)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 320
Total Page Count: 177,275
Text Number: 519
Read Because: fan of the author, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Doro is an ancient being who lives by stealing the bodies of others. When he discovers Anyanwu, a shapeshifter with immaculate control, he is determined to integrate her into his wide-ranging breeding program for individuals with strange gifts. Butler's work is one part high-concept sci-fi and one part conversations about power, consent, and intimacy. Wild Seed lacks the distinct concept of her other work, like aliens (Xenogenesis) or vampires (Fledgling); the premise takes longer to establish, and so the book has no immediate hook. Without that readability, the power dynamics are joyless indeed. But as the books develops narrative momentum: what a success. These protagonists are more complex than Butler's norm and the swings between their points of view are intentionally unsettling; their situation is less victim to arbitrary and inviolate rules. The result is a book with a wide scope, encompassing an expansive secondary cast, continents and decades, and race issues, and a keen, unforgiving focus which has more nuance and better success than Butler's other novels. It's not my favorite Butler, but it is probably her best.
