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4.0 out of 5 stars
An unsentimental view of human society, Jul 7 2003
After thousands of years, the immortal Doro's breeding program has finally produced a young female telepath who becomes the cornerstone of a psionic network, a new kind of society called the Pattern. However, Doro and Mary can't see eye to eye, and conflict slowly comes to a head...Butler sees human nature as paradoxical: people need communities and families to be healthy and sane, but humanity is inherently hierarchical and compelled to compete for power. Human society fosters both love and violence. Butler is pretty honest about the uglier aspects of the Pattern, a society where mind-control is a regular practice, and non-telepathic "mutes" are well-tended slaves. However, when you compare it to life without the Pattern, thousands of people living in hopeless schizophrenia from uncontrolled telepathy, you can understand their decisions. As in most of Butler's fiction, it's about how people live in imperfect situations. Ask yourself what you would do in their place.... The book is a bit talky in places. The strength of the book is the characterization and dialogue, and Butler's perspective is unique and thought-provoking. <i>Spoilers</i>
My only real complaint about this book is Anyanwu/Emma's role in the story. "Wild Seed" ends with her winning the war of wills with Doro, retaining her personal autonomy. I thought she would jump at the chance to renegotiate the terms of the society Doro created, but instead she just has a few cameos and sides with Doro to the end. It undermines the strength and integrity of her character as established in "Wild Seed".
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