Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler (1980) 321 pages
I listened to both of these as audiobooks on Libby narrated by Robin Miles. I finished Wild Seed back in September, but the second book just this week. This is a series where the series order is different from the order in which the author wrote them. Butler writes Wild Seed to sound like ancient myth with gods and mortals. It is more fantasy than sci-fi, but like the other books I've read by Butler holds close to reality. Doro is an immortal spirit that has possessed many human bodies over thousands of years. His possessions are described in terms of a predator eating his prey. His children, originating from Africa at first, but later through all races, have various telepathic abilities. Latent abilities sometimes become active. It is interesting how Butler imagines all sorts of special superhuman powers as beginning with abilities in the mind. Again, picture most of these powers as being hidden unless the person wants to be accused of being a witch of some sort. There are no masks or capes or action-heavy fist fights. Still, my imagination made comparisons to X-Men comics/movies without the heroics. Most of the book is about the relationship between Doro and a distant descendant Anyanwu. She has healing/shapeshifting powers and may be immortal like Doro. Doro plans to strengthen his descendants through selective breeding, which brings concepts around eugenics to mind. This story progresses from 17th century Nigeria to 19th century America. There is a huge power struggle between Doro and Anyanwu, but also a shaky romance. (Are they equals?) Anyanwu eventually raises generations of telepaths for Doro as America is founded.
Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler (1977) 228 pages
It took a long time for me to figure out when this second book is set. There are very few historical markers, which is not a bad thing. It makes the story timeless. In fact, it is set roughly in the 1970s when Butler was writing the novel. It flows smoothly from Wild Seed, so it surprised me to learn it was written earlier. Anyanwu has changed her name to Emma. She and Doro are still around. But this story focuses on one of her granddaughters, Mary. Doro moves Mary, who has incredible telepathic abilities, to California. Mary's power develops as the "Patternist" that gives the series its name. She is able to link the minds of less than a dozen active telepaths at first. She builds and strengthens a community of hundreds of telepaths and some unpowered humans until she becomes a threat to Doro's power, and a competitor to his master plan. Butler's writing is so good at the drama of relationships and the inner working of peoples' minds. At the end, there is something close to an action scene out of a superhero comic book, but it is powerful because of Butler's character development over these two books.
