Kindle
$11.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$70.36
Mass Market Paperback
$60.29
Buy used:
$60.29
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 14. Order within 13 hrs 18 mins
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Martistore
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Octavia E. Butler
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Wild Seed (Patternist, 1) Mass Market Paperback – February 1, 1999

by Octavia E. Butler (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,636 ratings
See all formats and editions
Doro is an entity who changes bodies like clothes, killing his hosts by reflex--or design. He fears no one--until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu has also died many times. She can absorb bullets and make medicine with a kiss, give birth to tribes, nurture and heal, and savage anyone who threatens those she loves. She fears no one--until she meets Doro. From African jungles to the colonies of America, Doro and Anyanwu weave together a pattern of destiny that not even immortals can imagine.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 4
    The Patternist Series
  2. Print length
    288 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Aspect
  5. Publication date
    February 1, 1999
  6. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0446606723
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0446606721
  9. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

OCTAVIA E. BUTLERwas a renowned writer who received a MacArthur "Genius" Grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. She was the author of several award-winning novels including Parable of the Sower, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and was acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from the distant past to the far future. Sales of her books have increased enormously since her death as the issues she addressed in her Afrofuturistic, feminist novels and short fiction have only become more relevant. She passed away on February 24, 2006.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aspect (February 1, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446606723
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446606721
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,636 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

OCTAVIA E. BUTLER (1947–2006) was the renowned author of numerous ground-breaking novels, including Kindred, Wild Seed, and Parable of the Sower. Recipient of the Locus, Hugo and Nebula awards, and a PEN Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work, in 1995 she became the first science- fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship ‘Genius Grant’. A pioneer of her genre, Octavia’s dystopian novels explore myriad themes of Black injustice, women’s rights, global warming and political disparity, and her work is taught in over two hundred colleges and universities nationwide.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
2,636 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Brandon Cumpa
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2024
Verified Purchase
Loved it. The protagonist is my favorite, never one to back down. The antagonist is very intimidating. Definitely worth the read.
Helpful
 Report
JOHN P BACK
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that has no right to be this good
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2024
Verified Purchase
A difficult tale, full of immorality and fear. The loathsome lead is somehow forgiven and imbued with humanity. Ridiculous, but it happens and almost bought me to tears. Butler is a magician. As with her alien apocalypse book, I’m afraid to read more but can’t see how I couldn’t. This book really should not have worked and is a tribute to her writing.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Waites Family
4.0 out of 5 stars *Review from the Illustrated Page*
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2016
Verified Purchase
Anyanwu and Doro are two immortal beings. Doro is more of a spirit than a man. He lives through millennial by possessing other’s bodies, killing the original owners in the process. Anyanwu is a shape shifter who can constantly rejuvenate her body so that she stays young forever. Doro kills, Anyanwu heals. They are as opposite as they can be, and yet each is the only immortal the other knows. Wild Seed begins with the two coming into contact for the first time, when Doro happens upon the African village where Anyanwu’s living in the late 1600s and shows the relationship between them up until the late 1800s.

Wild Seed is easy to read, but there’s a lot going on underneath the surface. There’s so many different topics at play here – race, slavery, gender, sexuality. Basically, if it’s a topic relating to power structures, Wild Seed deals with it. It doesn’t deal much with LGBTQ themes, but I’m still listing it under the tag since Anyanwu has a wife at one point (happens between chapters) and could probably be considered bisexual.

Wild Seed deals with the difficulties of being immortal and the inherent loneliness of watching everyone you know die. This is the focal point of the relationship between Anyanwu and Doro. Anyanwu may not be able to condone what Doro does, but he’s the only person who will remain constant as the families she builds for herself die around her.

I hate Doro, but I think you’re supposed to hate him. He’s spent his extraordinary long life on a eugenics project, creating a race of people with special powers. He’s controlling and manipulative and thinks nothing of killing others. He wants people to be under his control, to respect and obey him in all things. But Anyanwu cannot respect him, and she does not always obey him. She’s wild seed – a talented person born outside his breeding programs.

I’m really not sure what to think about the relationship between Anyanwu and Doro. I really hope the ending wasn’t supposed to be an instance of the woman “changing” her man with her feminine influences, but I’m not sure. Anyanwu was also so passive. I really wanted to see her stand up to Doro and to oppose the things he did that she hated. But it feels more like she accepts powerlessness.

A large part of why I have these feelings is that I don’t think Wild Seed had a real conclusion. The book just sort of ends. There problems with Doro’s actions haven’t been dealt with. Maybe it’s because this is a first book in a series? I’d want to keep reading to find out what happens to Anyanwu, but I’ve heard she’s not the protagonist of the next one.

Do I recommend Wild Seed? Definitely. I can see why it’s considered a science fiction classic, one that I think I’d need to reread to appreciate more fully.
55 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Level Up Nails
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2024
Verified Purchase
I am so happy I read this book! It's been so long since I've finished an entire book, but this was an easy read. I was hooked on every word all the way thru. 5 stars!
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I absolutely love this series
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024
Verified Purchase
This series is amazing. She will always be on of my top authors. I will recommend this series to anyone.
Helpful
 Report
Maria Haskins
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, unique science fiction
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
‘Wild Seed’ is the first book in the famous ‘Patternist’ series (though it was not written first). It is also the first book by Butler that I’ve read but will definitely not be the last: this was a book that kept me reading far too late into the night because I just could not put it down.

The book starts off in 1690, in Africa, and ends in 1840s in the United States. It follows the immortal man/spirit Doro – born in Africa in the days of ancient Egypt, and Anyanwu, an African woman with astonishing powers that set her apart from everyone around her. Doro brings Anyanwu to America, and she becomes part of his “people”: an extensive group of individuals who are ruled by, and selectively bred by Doro to enhance their various special abilities.

With that as its starting point, ‘Wild Seed’ becomes a haunting, rich, and compelling story of Anyanwu’s struggle to survive in the new world under Doro’s rule, exploring themes like good and evil, slavery and oppression, race and eugenics, family and friendship, love and the essence of life itself: what makes life worth living? what is a good life? what is worth living for? what is worth dying for?

Butler’s cast of characters add to the richness of the book: they are all complex and conflicted, and even characters that pass by only briefly in the story are so well-written that they stay with you afterwards. And Anyanwu is one of the most interesting and likable literary characters I’ve encountered. She is a good, but flawed, person, fighting tooth and nail to stay true to herself and her own convictions, and to keep her freedom and self-determination – even under excruciatingly difficult circumstances.

‘Wild Seed’ is compelling, unique science fiction, and it’s a book that lingers in the mind long after you finish reading it.
102 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Maranda
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
Arrived in time in new condition! Great read.
Helpful
 Report
BWH
4.0 out of 5 stars Hold on to your seat!
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
4.5 stars
It’s almost impossible to describe this book in a way that is not full of spoilers or gives appropriate credence to the nuance of Ms Butlers work. In short, we are introduced to 1 “being” and 1 immortal woman who weave in and out of each other’s lives for centuries. It’s futuristic, it’s fantastical and it’s based on an expansive view of who and what God is.
I particularly enjoyed that the framework for the immortal woman, Anyanwu, is African, that she’s a healer and her mission remains to help as many people as she can. Doro is less definable but no less intriguing. I found it comical that his continued attempts to control Anyanwu were, more or less, fruitless because you can’t begin control a woman like her.
Their journey through time was fascinating and sucks you in. The first section might be rough going but it progressively gets better and more nuanced.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Eric Lawton
5.0 out of 5 stars A genre of its own
Reviewed in Canada on October 24, 2022
Verified Purchase
Two immortals struggle, one mostly good, one not, with their own natures, telling us lot about ourselves.

They're very human except for their centuries of life and a price that comes with their "gift".
Report
Nellig
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and unusual
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
This was very different to sci-fi I've read before. The style is very plain and unadorned, but the narrative sweeps you along. I was glad to discover this author.
One person found this helpful
 Report
kc
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and unique
Reviewed in Germany on April 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
A very strange story that is unlike anything I have read. Well written fantasy without your typical female protagonist. She creates a strong woman character that I found compelling.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Lilian White
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in France on June 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
Octavia Buttler delivers at "Wild Seed" an excellent story. The spot is so different from what we commonly read! I also really love the characters. Buttler buit up deep and rich characters that are so unique. The author's point of view on life, society and human relations is her strengh.
Report
Bruno Allard
5.0 out of 5 stars Octavia Butler is such a captivating author
Reviewed in Canada on February 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
I am midway through this novel, and I'm really loving it! Octavia Butler is such an interesting writer. For now, I've read the Parable series and Kindred (and the corresponding graphic novel), and the short stories collection. She explored so many ideas in her writing. This was especially obvious in her short stories collection, and it is with this one too. I just realized that it's the fourth novel in the Patternist series, so I'll definitely read the others.
I highly recommend it!
Report