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rlgreen91's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Incest, Suicide, Body horror, Colonisation, and Slavery
rachbake's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child death, Murder, Grief, Trafficking, and Slavery
arithmetic's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Child death, Trafficking, Slavery, Pedophilia, and Gore
kefeshe's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Incest, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Colonisation
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
kshertz's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Racism, Abandonment, Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, and Slavery
m_petranoff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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.nstew16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Classism, Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Slavery, Animal death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Murder, and Self harm
lasafica_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Genocide, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Sexual harassment
storyorc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wild Seed does take its time but the effect is mesmerising rather than dull. I read it in two sittings, faster than I've read much shorter novels. It's also a world apart from the usual sci-fi novels I read from this era in terms of queer acceptance (and obviously feminism and anti-fascism). These shapeshifters are practical enough to be mostly unfazed by sex between all kinds of different bodies.
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicide, and Incest
Minor: Pedophilia and Ableism
These topics are not presented uncritically at all.sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Butler, Octavia E.. Wild Seed (The Patternist Series Book 1) (p. 11). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: adult, science fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction
📚Page Count: 404
🎧Audiobook Length: 11h 09min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
----
One of my favorite books of all time. Amazing.
5/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved this.
Graphic: Animal death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Death