Reviews

Mind of my Mind by Octavia E. Butler

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nanno_lib's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

storyorc's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Few prequels are able to turn their prequelness into such a roaring advantage. Since we already know the general trajectory of this world, the narrative is under none of the usual pressures to keep this collection of telepath's powers modest, controlled, or even particularly under wraps. This allows it to really dig into what telepaths could do to our society - or more broadly, what people with unanswerable power can do. Having one telepath positioned above the rest only adds nuance to the power structure. A lot of books will soften their hypothetical scenarios by making the powerful side pure evil or making a vigilante beloved by the people to excuse their extrajudicial violence but Butler does not shy away from the complications of her setup. There is a very specific horror in watching people grow accustomed to - even happy with - a lack of freedom. The greater good of society vs freedom of the individual tension is acutely felt. This gave me a similar mounting dread on the ideological level as the 2024 Dune II film.

Even as the book generates this great and horrible sense of hurtling toward tragedy on the macro scale, my ignorance of the details of the original novel kept me on the edge of my seat in regards to the fates of certain characters. Doro is still the monster from Wild Seed but also still not without love and loneliness and a very human arrogance. Butler excels in seeding the reader with an insidious pride and curiosity in his millennia-spanning project despite its sickening cost simply because there is no-one else reaching as high as he is. Mary is easier to root for, but prone to an equally human pettiness, bitterness, and that same arrogance. She is no benevolent dictator, much as she might wish to be, and her abilities amplify her little cruelties through her impressive creations in fascinating ways. In the end, they are all just people struggling with issues far bigger than any single person should be. It makes the book hard to put down. Thankfully, the novel's final gift is that it's pretty short.

Content Warnings

littlepepperguy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional

4.0

Something about this didn't live up to Wild Seed. I think Wild Seed was so sprawling and full of conflict between Doro & Anyanwu. Anyanwu goes by Emma in this novel and she's completely nerfed. She's given up caring about his breeding and given up on trying to resist. They're in a relationship for 200ish years before she gets icked out by him and stops smashing but she still is very possessive and changes her form to be attractive to him when he comes around. So like, idk she kind of sucks in this novel.

The ending is super anticlimactic. For how big of a villian and how powerful Doro is, the ending left me wanting. I would feel more invested if the narrative really nailed home how big of a deal Mary is.

It was def an interesting scifi story.

lilyanna211's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

luminous's review against another edition

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5.0

Not the masterpiece that is Dawn, nor an example of an author in her mature prime like Wild Seed, yet Mind of My Mind stands as wonderful in its own right. This book is action-packed and virtually YA/new adult, yet fascinating in how it touches on themes Butler explores more deeply in later works: slavery, immortality, healing at the molecular level, transformation of the body through a supernatural metamorphosis, and a sort of seemingly-benevolent colonialism. This would be a great introduction to Butler for YA readers and readers of the superpower flavor of paranormal.