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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780446698900
ISBN number: 0446698903
Label: Grand Central Publishing
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 784
Printing Date: January 05, 2007
Publishing house: Grand Central Publishing
Sale Popularity Level: 89290
Studio: Grand Central Publishing
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Rated by buyers 
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"Wild Seed" (1980) is one of two books which established Octavia Butler as a first-rank SF writer (the other is "Kindred", published about the same time). The plot is simple enough. One of the major characters, Doro, is a wild talent. When his body dies, he eats the spirit of someone nearby and takes over his body. He doesn't even have to wait for death - he can make the transfer any time he chooses, and the old body immediately dies. Over the years he's found that some kills are more satisfying than others, and he's since then been attempting to breed a better race of food. 3,700 years later, he has little colonies of his people scattered all over the world. The best of them are wild talents of one type or another, the worst are dangerous psychotics. Doro breeds and weeds, and looks after his people.
The "Wild Seed" of the title is Anyanwu, a healer and shape changer who has watched over her children and descendants for 300 years. When Doro finds her, he induces/seduces/forces her into his breeding program. The book is the story of the very first 150 years of their relationship. It's not easy on either of them, and neither of them will ever be quite the same.
With this book, Butler created two of the most interesting and fully conceived characters of her career. Unlike so many other of her later books, Butler doesn't grind any axes nor endeavor any social commentary. It's the story of two people, both of whom are effectively immortal and for the very first time are attempting to deal with someone else who isn't ephemeral. It asks interesting questions about the nature of parenthood, love, authority and responsibilities without ever going for simplistic or shallow answers. Ultimately they both pay a price for finding the other, and neither emerges unscathed.
Strongly recommended. And yes, it's still in print nearly 30 years later.
Semi-trivia comment: if you've read "Mind of My Mind", one of Butler's earlier novels, the Emma Anyanwu mentioned near the end is the same Anyanwu. She was there as backstory to Doro's more prominent role in "Mind", and that backstory eventually nagged at Butler enough that she wrote "Wild Seed." This isn't to say you should go get "Mind of My Mind", which was at best a mediocre novel. But if you're interested, "Wild Seed, "Mind of My Mind", "Patternmaster" and "Clay's Ark" are now available in this omnibus edition "Seed To Harvest." Given that "Clay's Ark" is also a fine novel, it's worth spending the couple of extra bucks and buying the omnibus. Just don't expect much from "Patternmaster" or "Mind of My Mind." To my point of view, one should read "Seed" and "Ark" and then pretty much ignore the other two.
Rated by buyers 
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This is a wonderful compilation, of some very thought-provoking novels written by the only Africa American female sci-fi Author.
Rated by buyers -
I purchased Liliths Brood with all books included. I was so impressed and amazed that I read it instantly over again. Lilith Iyapo starts the series as a woman trying to survive on an alien ship that uses only organic technology, but they contain an organelle in each cell of their bodies that allow them to never forget anything, to heal themselves and others. They find earthings dying from atomic aftermath. The "Oakanali-spelling wrong I think" are traders, traders of genes. Their price for rescueing humanity and reseeding the earth is for humans to adapt to a new family way; 5 parents, 2 human, 2 alien, 1 ooloi. The humans react in different ways. Resister groups are formed leading to much violence. These books are amazingly intricate, interesting, erotic and totally enthralling. Book two deals with Liliths son Akin, the very first male construck (a hybrid). The aliens are deathly sure that human genes without interference from them will always lead themselves to distruction due to their intelligence and their ancient proclivity towards heirarchial tendencies which will always override intelligence. Imago brings us to even further advancement of our hybrid race. Earth is on its way to distruction due to the Oankali organic homes that grow into shuttles and then ships by using the matter of earth. They can eat anything except plastic. Everyone on earth has to choose what to do out of three options. One is to stay and die, Two is to go off on a ship into interstellar space in search of other races or Three----well, I don't want to give it all away. I hope you read these books, I really really enjoyed them. ,
Rated by buyers 
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Collected for the very first time are all four of Octavia E. Butler's Patternist novels: Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay's Ark, and Patternmaster. Now you get to see this whole unique world from its beginnings hundreds of years ago to its conclusion hundreds and thousands of years in the future. Seed to Harvest will delight and terrify you in a way only Butler can.
Our main character and quasi hero is Doro, who is more like a god or perhaps a devil in a way, instead of a human. He has a special power: he's immortal, only to continue living forever he has to consume other people's souls and become that person, inhabiting that body. He has been doing this for a thousand years, and lives his life as he does until one day he meets a woman, Anyanwu, in Africa, in the seventeenth century. She is a shapeshifter and has unique powers of her own, such as the ability to heal by a kiss, and with an incredible strength, she can defend herself against anything. Wild Seed is their story, as they meet and get to know each other, fall in love, and travel to New Amsterdam, where they will start their own family of gifted children. Along the way they find other characters with special abilities, which Doro believes is somehow linked to his history and his own powers. But Doro is also creating this family for his own personal survival, so he will have more victims to keep him alive and immortal. Wild Seed ends with the family now quite large, and Anyanwu unable to live with Doro anymore, leaving him.
Mind of My Mind is close to the present day, Anyanwu has changed her name to Emma, wanting to separate herself from her past, but unable to. Doro now lives in Forsyth, California, where his family continues to grow with new individuals and their unique powers. It is here that the Pattern begins to emerge of this large family that is all interrelated, and that is in constant struggle with the paternal master, Doro. The book ends with the final death of Doro, who is sealed in his current body, cremated and no longer able to take another, ending the line. But the Pattern is not finished.
Clay's Ark is set in the twenty-third century and it is here that the spaceship, known as Clay's Ark, returns to Earth with an alien and a sickness that begins to infect everyone. But at the same time a new race is formed out of the sickness, out of those on the spaceship, who become known as "Clayarcs." And as time passes, they establish themselves as a formidable force on the planet.
Patternmaster is the mighty conclusion to the long series, where the Patternists and Clayarcs fight against each other in a distant future time where evolution has made them look barely human. This is a hostile and tough world, where only one race can triumph, the question is which one will it be?
While Seed to Harvest can be boiled down to a simple summary, Butler has weaved many emotions and issues that are ever present in the current world, on the subject of race and evolution, on what it means to be human. The book merely continues to prove that Octavia E. Butler was one of the best science fiction writers of her time.
For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com
Rated by buyers -
Octavia Butler is one of the stellar writers of Science Fiction that this earth has been graced with. Because she makes everything relevant to life on earth and opens up possibilities for the mind to think on, her stories come to life. Buy this book and you'll surely want to read all of her trilogies.
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