A review by therainbowshelf
Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Anyanwu and Doro are powerful, immortal, godlike beings who may or may not be human. What a wild, up and down ride with a slow burn satisfying (?) payoff. It was a lot of fun seeing the ways that Anyanwu challenged Doro, and I loved the insight we got into her body-focused powers (which reminded me of the Ooloi from Butler’s Xenogenesis saga). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Abandonment, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Medical content, Incest, Rape, Grief, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness