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  • Wild Seed

  • The Patternist Series, Book 1
  • By: Octavia E. Butler
  • Narrated by: Robin Miles
  • Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (83 ratings)
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Wild Seed cover art

Wild Seed

By: Octavia E. Butler
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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Summary

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 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 shape-shifter, 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.

©1980 Octavia E. Butler (P)2020 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

“Richly evocative...particularly striking.” (Chicago Tribune)

What listeners say about Wild Seed

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A poor relation of the Xenogenesis trilogy

I was blown away by the Xenogenesis trilogy, it was just so different to anything I've ever read before; very complex and, I felt, a uniquely female perspective.

This feels like the same basic ideas as that series being explored (not so well) in a different scenario. I'm astonished, frankly, how tedious and irritating I'm finding it, so it's time to walk away. Another reviewer mentions the way that Anyanwu just tolerates Doro's bad treatment of her, which is certainly a very big part of it for me. Mainly, though, I think I was hoping for something as unique as Xenogenesis, and this has left me disappointed.

I might return to the book, it's not uninteresting, I am curious about what will happen.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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loved it

loved it, not my favourite of her books but it's up there for sure. would recommend

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just brilliant

A truly brilliant story, well written and well read. Loved it. A different sci-fi story, so original and moving.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

I really love the dedication to portraying genetics without any use of the technical terms. I love the uniquely womanly perspective that I can’t seem to find by any other author.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Slightly confusing

Similar themes to Xenogenesis, but I was confused by the setting, and would have liked to have had more technical explanations of how things worked.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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seeing from a different view

loved it, deep and different, I could hear and feel the characters, Octavia Butler, a great talented writer.

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