Reviews tagging 'Death'

Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

59 reviews

turtleduckiess's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I want to write this review before I read the afterward. I wish I had gotten here immediately after finishing the book but i had class smh. I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience. From what I can tell this is a sort of random place to start with Octavia Butler but I really enjoyed the writing and the world and magic systems she created. The best part about this book is undoubtedly the two main characters, especially Anyanwu she was my favorite part of the entire thing. I think the characterization of them is really strong and laid out very consisteny so you understand why they make certain choices or why they change throughout the book which was very interesting to watch. The ending had me STRESSED and I had lots of feelings about that last chapter. I'm really excited to see what other people thought about it. Going in required reading because Anyanwu's ideas about family and her duty as a healer, how she understands humanity, and perseveres in her circumstances all resonated or impacted me. That is what will stick with me even as the details of the plot fade away.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Grief, Sexual content, Racism, Rape, Suicide, and Death

Minor: Rape and Pedophilia

yomireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

So, as a whole, this book is well written, and its clear that Octavia E Butler has a strong grasp of her craft. Anyanwu and Doror both are well shaped characters with strong wills that clash, neither bending easily to the other. The abilities and the exploration of these otherworldly abilities is captivating to be sure. The dark and keen look at slavery and the loss of autonomy is very intentional and poignant. 

But God was I uncomfortable the entirety of this novel. I'm positive the discomfort is intentional, the fear, rage, and overall frustration simmering just below boiling from the start is intentional, but the obstinate refusal of the clearly villainous Doro to have any sort of real character growth for literal centuries made me want to chuck this book into an ocean.

The incest was obscene. Eugenics at its finest (most disturbing). And the strange pervasive nature of misogyny in characters who can shift their sex at will wildly frustrating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Cannibalism, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

rlgreen91's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Alright, so even though I finished this book over a month ago, life got in the way of jotting down some thoughts.  And y'all, I promise I did have a lot of thoughts about Wild Seed, but honestly, that's par for the course when it comes to Butler's work.  I have yet to come across a text she wrote that didn't expect you to think.

So...a month or so later, what thoughts continue to elbow their way to the front when I think of this book?  For one, I really liked how Butler depicted Doro and Anyanwu as these nigh immortal, long-lived beings, especially in moments of boredom, without the depiction itself being boring and repetitive.  It's hard to put my finger on it, but something about the characterization of Doro and Anyanwu seems more "lively" than your typical characterization of a god, or vampire, or person who accidentally becomes immortal, or what have you.  And again, this perception exists, even in moments where Doro or Anyanwu are reflecting on the boredom and fatigue that accompanies living for so long.  It's fascinating because it's so skillful.

The other thought that continues to come to the forefront of my mind is my appreciation for Anyanwu as a lead character whose skills and personality focus on healing and nurturing.  This is partly due to a personal preference for shifting away from achievement as domination and competition to collaboration and care.  But I also appreciate that, for all Doro could not see or imagine it, Anyanwu's efforts to heal, nurture, and care for the people around her was a choice.  After all, it wasn't like Anyanwu wasn't capable of killing anyone or inflicting pain; we see her do just that a number of times in the book.  There's no reason why Anyanwu couldn't have been more ruthless, more dangerous, more deadly, especially in societies that would assume she was powerless by default.  But Anyanwu chose to do what she could to care, nurture, and heal the people around her and that is no small thing.

Overall, I really enjoyed Wild Seed, but I say that about everything I ready by Butler, so not that surprising. :) Looking forward to getting to Mind of My Mind soon-ish. 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Incest, Suicide, Body horror, Colonisation, and Slavery

rachbake's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child death, Murder, Grief, Trafficking, and Slavery

amerily123's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Death, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror

arithmetic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Child death, Trafficking, Slavery, Pedophilia, and Gore

kshertz's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Octavia Butler saw the future and dreamed it. This book is no different. The idea of enslaved people and people in Africa that can change bodies. Creating their own tribes in Africa and America. The following of those with magical powers and their lineage was fascinating. She was so creative and it stands the rest of time for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Racism, Abandonment, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, and Slavery

loristoudenmier's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child death, Incest, Slavery, Death, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

tenderbench's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Incest, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Racism and Rape

m_petranoff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death

Moderate: War, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Colonisation

Like many of Butler's books, this is a challenging look at the nature of humanity. It is dark and about how easy it can be to lose ones humanity, but not as challenging to read as some of her other novels. There are a lot of content warnings, and only a few are graphic, but the theme of the book itself is engaging with challenging themes.