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sowalsky 's review for:
Patternmaster
by Octavia E. Butler
As a debut novel, this work is impressive, although not perfect. This is also, incidentally, the first of Butler's work that I've read, so I want to emphasize that this book was strong enough to encourage me to return to her. It is, in fact, a real page-turner, a tale which draws the reader in and refuses to let go. And Butler's vivid characterizations, and her seamless exposition of a very different world than that which we live in are handled expertly. She builds a rich culture and, yet, is able to delineate its customs and institutions with admirable clarity; there are very few "what's that all about?" moments for the first-time reader.
Where Butler falls a bit short is her subtext. I'm assuming -- perhaps incorrectly, I'll grant -- that the author is trying to draw parallels to our own culture in order to provide some social commentary, some food for thought, to her audience. This feel like a cautionary tale, but the subject of Butler's warning remains elusive. Why, for example, make her protagonist an aspirant to the pinnacle of what is apparently a borderline-misogynistic patriarchy? Admittedly, the character of Amber provides some relief to this dynamic, representing independent, queer, feminist power (and real power, at that, not simply token power). But much of the story centers the struggle of heterosexual, male characters vying for power, certainly a tired old trope in the realm of sci-fi (and fantasy) at this point. Perhaps you had to be there, in 1976, when this book was first published, in order to see things differently. It may very well have been more disruptive in its day, but from the perspective of 2022, it feels a bit antiquated. One can easily imagine Amber vanquishing both Coransee and Teray and taking over as Patternmaster, but perhaps Butler was trying to illustrate a contrast between brute force/male pride (i.e., arrogance) and a more balanced wisdom exemplified by Amber?
The only other complaint I have is that this novel is, arguably, a little too slight. It is a quick, short read, and some of that is the result of Butler's fluid, organic prose. But she might have benefited from, for example, providing a little more back story at the opening, providing more of a denouement, and fleshing out some of the scenes in between which fly by, perhaps, just a bit too quickly. In other words, in this writer's opinion, she has yet to master the ebb and flow of perfect pacing.
Regardless of these quibbles, Butler has here created an intriguing and entertaining world which is, nevertheless, thought-provoking at every turn. No mean feat for a first-time novelist.
Where Butler falls a bit short is her subtext. I'm assuming -- perhaps incorrectly, I'll grant -- that the author is trying to draw parallels to our own culture in order to provide some social commentary, some food for thought, to her audience. This feel like a cautionary tale, but the subject of Butler's warning remains elusive. Why, for example, make her protagonist an aspirant to the pinnacle of what is apparently a borderline-misogynistic patriarchy? Admittedly, the character of Amber provides some relief to this dynamic, representing independent, queer, feminist power (and real power, at that, not simply token power). But much of the story centers the struggle of heterosexual, male characters vying for power, certainly a tired old trope in the realm of sci-fi (and fantasy) at this point. Perhaps you had to be there, in 1976, when this book was first published, in order to see things differently. It may very well have been more disruptive in its day, but from the perspective of 2022, it feels a bit antiquated. One can easily imagine Amber vanquishing both Coransee and Teray and taking over as Patternmaster, but perhaps Butler was trying to illustrate a contrast between brute force/male pride (i.e., arrogance) and a more balanced wisdom exemplified by Amber?
The only other complaint I have is that this novel is, arguably, a little too slight. It is a quick, short read, and some of that is the result of Butler's fluid, organic prose. But she might have benefited from, for example, providing a little more back story at the opening, providing more of a denouement, and fleshing out some of the scenes in between which fly by, perhaps, just a bit too quickly. In other words, in this writer's opinion, she has yet to master the ebb and flow of perfect pacing.
Regardless of these quibbles, Butler has here created an intriguing and entertaining world which is, nevertheless, thought-provoking at every turn. No mean feat for a first-time novelist.