Book thirty: Wild Seed

Wild Seed* (1980)
Octavia E. Butler

Rating: 4/5

This book was fascinating.

Doro and Anyanwu have one thing in common: they both live while those around them die. Doro survives by invading the bodies of others, Anyanwu by healing herself.

In his never ending search to breed a species with talents like his own, Doro convinces Anyanwu to leave her native Africa and travel with him to America. This begins their century’s long struggle to come to terms with each other. They clash time and again because of their very different morals, but are always drawn back together by their desire to not be alone.

I found this book incredibly compelling. Butler created an entirely convincing monster in Doro. I was scared of him, but I still wanted to read about him. I suppose to try and understand him.

I wouldn’t exactly say I liked either Doro or Anyanwu, but I did want them both to get what they wanted. I suppose this book is about survival, and I did want them both to survive.

I can’t even begin to think how anyone could have convinced of the plot. Bulter must have had a very, very, very good imagination.

This book did have weird pacing. It would focus on a certain few weeks, days or even hours, then skip past hundreds of years. I suppose this is because of its scope (and it is a fairly short book), but I did find that the ending was pretty rushed.

It’s still fascinating though.

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* Finished 14/4