kileyoriley's review against another edition
4.0
I’m giving this 4 stars but it’s not because I enjoyed it. I actually hated everything about it. Though I can appreciate the story, I can’t say I liked a thing about it.
Anyanwu and Doro are 2 immortal people who spends hundreds of years together playing this weird game of cat and mouse where Doro constantly threatens her life if he finds that she is acting out. It drove me nuts. Anyanwu is this powerful woman who can shape shift, and heal almost an ailment and she lets this man control her for centuries because her weakest fault is her love for her family.
Doro really doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, and no sort of development will ever make me think otherwise. He just treats people like they are some sort of cattle finding “special people” or “wild seeds” that he can mate together to, what I can only assume is eventually build some sort of X-men type assembly of people, but a country full, not just a big fancy mansion left to him by his dead parents. What he actually wants to do with them, I have no idea. It kinda seems like he is just collecting them like pokemon, using their abilities for his own gain.
Also, the dolphin thing made me feel icky. It reminded me of that documentary about the guy who broke into the zoo to be “intimate” with his dolphin girlfriend. No thanks.
TLDR: I can appreciate that this book is well written and the story is interesting, but no. Never again.
Anyanwu and Doro are 2 immortal people who spends hundreds of years together playing this weird game of cat and mouse where Doro constantly threatens her life if he finds that she is acting out. It drove me nuts. Anyanwu is this powerful woman who can shape shift, and heal almost an ailment and she lets this man control her for centuries because her weakest fault is her love for her family.
Doro really doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, and no sort of development will ever make me think otherwise. He just treats people like they are some sort of cattle finding “special people” or “wild seeds” that he can mate together to, what I can only assume is eventually build some sort of X-men type assembly of people, but a country full, not just a big fancy mansion left to him by his dead parents. What he actually wants to do with them, I have no idea. It kinda seems like he is just collecting them like pokemon, using their abilities for his own gain.
Also, the dolphin thing made me feel icky. It reminded me of that documentary about the guy who broke into the zoo to be “intimate” with his dolphin girlfriend. No thanks.
TLDR: I can appreciate that this book is well written and the story is interesting, but no. Never again.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Grief, Sexual content, Racism, Rape, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Rape and Pedophilia
unfocusedcuriosity's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- 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? No
5.0
bookishleftistauntie's review
5.0
Anyanwu is an immortal shapeshifter. Who hasn't dreamt of flying above the earth, untouchable? Or living as a dolphin, exploring the depths of the ocean? That sounds like more than enough for a promising novel, but there is more.
Doro is also immortal and much older than Anyanwu. Doro survives by taking over the body of another human. Doro has found Anyanwu and is determined to claim her as one of his. He is brutal and has no qualms about killing for any reason or no reason at all. Anyanwu will only kill if she must. They could form an amazing partnership or destroy each other along the way.
Doro is also immortal and much older than Anyanwu. Doro survives by taking over the body of another human. Doro has found Anyanwu and is determined to claim her as one of his. He is brutal and has no qualms about killing for any reason or no reason at all. Anyanwu will only kill if she must. They could form an amazing partnership or destroy each other along the way.
raj_page's review against another edition
5.0
At first glance it is not easy to understand whether this is a sci-fi book or a fantasy book. But the subtle way the writer used to describe the healing processes and the breeding, it marked the book as a strong sci-fi book.
Throughout the book, I liked it but I was going to rate it a 4. But the ending... we can feel the pain of the protagonist and the antagonist and we can see how the pain merges with each other and in a way gave a different meaning to this book. The ending was one of the most beautiful endings I've ever read.
Throughout the book, I liked it but I was going to rate it a 4. But the ending... we can feel the pain of the protagonist and the antagonist and we can see how the pain merges with each other and in a way gave a different meaning to this book. The ending was one of the most beautiful endings I've ever read.
twinkzilla's review against another edition
5.0
As an introduction to fantasy/ sci-fi I am starstruck. This is a fantastic book
megabyte117's review against another edition
4.0
A book thoroughly difficult to put down, but also difficult to read given the nature of the relationship between the two protagonists in the story. I'm at a loss to elaborate on my feelings of those characters and their dynamic until subsequent books. As ever however, Butler is phenomenal with her character work and eliciting strong emotions from the reader through the difficult content and unexpected plot events.
dee_claire_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- 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? No
3.5
moirwyn's review against another edition
5.0
My full review can be found here:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/wild-seed-by-octavia-butler/
I've been wanting to read more Octavia Butler ever since I read "Kindred." She's a fantastic writer. In "Wild Seed," she tells the story of an epic battle of wills between two psi-mutant immortals, while at the same time exploring themes of race and gender in society. I'd highly recommend it.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/wild-seed-by-octavia-butler/
I've been wanting to read more Octavia Butler ever since I read "Kindred." She's a fantastic writer. In "Wild Seed," she tells the story of an epic battle of wills between two psi-mutant immortals, while at the same time exploring themes of race and gender in society. I'd highly recommend it.