Most helpful customer reviews
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Downright Laughable, May 11 2004
One can not deny that Octavia Butler has a gift for writing. But she also seems to have a voyeuristic and rather prudish attitude towards sex, which turned a good premise to a downright laughable novel. As such, the novel does have a great deal of appeal for fellow voyeurs/prudes. I'm not at all surprised that it's a favourite with teenagers, who's idea of a good time is likely to go, "Oooh. He had sex with her. Then he made her have sex with his son. And then he had sex with her daughter (ad infinitum). This is so gross! And cool!" but are glad to be able to call the book thought-provoking, since they are prudes, who don't want to acknowledge their tendencies to voyeurism. And the book *does* have elements of thought-provocation, in between the random pairings and pregnancies. But those are what the book's about. The final resolution is all about both, as usual, and doesn't come from anywhere but the author's decision that it's about time to end this, so we'll just say, but not *show* how the protagonists have come to peace with each other
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5.0 out of 5 stars
What a great introduction to an amazing author..., April 12 2004
This is a thoroughly enjoyable stand-alone novel with well-developed characters and a frightening premise: two immortals with roots in Africa go to America to build communities of people with superhuman powers. The more manipulative of the immortals is named Doro, and his immortality is based on death and destruction (he must possess and kill the bodies of others in order to sustain his deathless life). The other immortal, Anyanwu, is diametrically opposed to this kind of behavior, as her powers are based on an innate understanding of life (she is able to understand and manipulate each of her tissues and bacteria living within her body, and so she is able to halt aging and even shape change). Anyanwu is thus also able to sustain the lives of others since she is so in-tune with biological organisms that she can create cures for those without her special abilities. Thus, she bases her life in raising tribes of moral people around her, who she can help and protect, while Doro raises people as if they are livestock, to feed his hunger for the souls of others. Yet, Doro and Anyanwu do have one irresistible bond: they both know that their loved ones will inevitably die, but they will be doomed to live forever. Wild Seed is therefore essentially a character study of the relationship between these two very strange, yet strangely familiar, characters who hate and love each other at the same time for very good reasons.This was the first Octavia Butler book I ever read. Now that I have read several of her other novels, I can easily say that this one is my favorite so far, but some of her others come close. If you enjoy this book, read her Lilith's Brood series; it is similarly based on genetics and biology as a background to incredible happenings. Butler certainly rivals the likes of Orson Scott Card and others in creating believable, sympathetic, flawed characters; highly recommended.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Different ways to be a mutant, April 2 2004
Good book; several layers of reference, including gender dynamics, the Old Testament, and even a touch of the conflict between vampires and werewolves. This particular edition has an irritating frequency of editorial errors (duplicated lines, wrong words, wrong letters), which I found distracting.
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