Seed to Harvest: The Complete Patternist Series (The Patternist Series) Kindle Edition

The first book I read by Butler was  Fledgling  and I enjoyed it a lot, but it was  Lilith's Brood (Xenogenesis) that truly blew me away and made me a fan. Butler crafts some of the most compelling, and in-depth science fiction I have ever read.Seed to Harvest includes four related novels in the Patternist series: Wild Seed, Mind of my Ming, Clay’s Ark and Patternmaster. First, I have to say I am grateful for this omnibus edition because otherwise I might have read them in published order, whereas this collection is done in chronological order. I think it’s better this way. Patternmaster was the first book Butler published, and it throws readers directly into a very different and strange world than the one we know. The other three books show how we got there and I think it makes for a better reading experience.WILD SEED is the tale of Anyanwu, an African woman who can heal herself of any injury and is seemingly immortal. She is discovered by Doro, a being who has lived for millennia but at the expense of countless lives. He intends to create a master race of humans through careful breeding. He finds those gifted with psychic abilities and brings them together, and he wants Anyanwu as part of that plan. The two of them are at odds, but also drawn to each other- living embodiments of life and death. Butler’s characters are fully developed and come alive off the pages.MIND OF MY MIND introduces Mary, who may be the key to creating Doro’s master race. Mary is the first powerful telepath born who is not driven insane by her gift. She uses it to create The Pattern, which binds her people together. Only, Doro may have gotten more than he bargained for when he realizes he’s not part of that master race. I think this is the best book of the four – I read it straight through because it was so creative and the characters so interesting.CLAY’S ARK is where things get a little…weird. Wild Seed and Mind of my Mind were tightly connected stories, tied together by Anyanwu and Doro. Clay’s Ark introduces brand new characters and a new story-telling structure which swaps between present day and the past. The book appears completely unrelated to the two books that come before it, but is a critical bridge to Patternmaster. A father and his two older teen daughters are accosted on the highway and taken prisoner. Eli calmly informs that that he is carrying a disease that they now have, and will come to accept. Naturally, they don’t want to accept it and try to escape, with global consequences. In the prior two books, Doro hinted that his master race is going to be needed for a purpose. One that is finally revealed in the final book.PATTERNMASTER opens with a surprise attack on the Rayal, the Patternmaster, by Clayarks. These two species have been at war for decades, and the Clayarks realize killing Rayal is the key to winning. The story then moves to Teray, one of many sons of the Patternmaster His mental abilities are very strong, perhaps even strong enough to allow him hold The Pattern one day. This is something Coransee cannot allow, for he wants the Pattern for himself.Overall, I didn’t find Seed to Harvest to be quite as good as Lilith’s Brood, mainly because of the conclusion. Lilith’s Brood has more closure while Seed to Harvest is left more or less in a stalemate. It’s almost as if Butler intended there to be another book (and perhaps the long out of print “Survivor” is that book). Still, I thought this was a brilliant, rich saga that pulls a reader in and keeps them long after the final page. Highly recommended.

I have been re-reading Octavia Butler recently and decided to tackle all five books of the Patternist series, yes, including the out of print Survivor that the author herself didn't like. When I first read these books, I read them as a straightforward adventure in evolution, but there is so much more between the covers. In many ways, it is a history of original sin and asks the question, common to all Butler books, 'Will we manage to overcome our flaws as a species/". As we all know, the answer to that isn't easy for the individual or the collective.The novels are presented in the order the author decided served the storyline, rather than the order of publication, so keeping that in mind is important. We begin, with Wild Seed at the height of the Middle Passage with woman and a being, formerly a man, who have evolved into something beyond human. The man, the villain of the piece is determined to create a new telepathic and immortal race to keep him compnay over the long millennia. The woman provides the immortal aspect of the project as when Doro finds Anyanwu, she has been alive for 300 years and is capable of cellular healing and changing the shape of her body. We follow these two as they fight and as both are bred repeatedly to achieve the desired mixture. Is forced breeding for a noble cause immoral? When the species evolves, who is human? And of course, what would happen if some of the African diaspora had been able to magically escape slavery in the United States.Next, in Mind of my Mind, centuries of breeding have finally produced the desired results, but will the offspring be more powerful than their creator? And what defines freedom and humanity? Are the strong destined to always subdue and use the weak?Next, in Clay's Ark, a disease is brought back to earth, a disease which also transforms the people and the children who acquire it? Who is human now and what are their rights to survival and the planet as every organism seeks to survive, but must they do it by subjagating others?Finally, in Patternmaster and Survivor (Survivor is NOT a part of this omnibus), the war between these two evolutions of humanity is detailed. I have detailed the philosophical elements of the novels, but rest assured, these can be read as adventurous speculative fiction with just as much enjoyment. Octavia Butler is a storyteller first and foremost and her readers will never be bored.In short, I am stunned by this woman's brilliance, her ability to tell a great story and combine it with questions basic to our humanity is overwhelming. These are recommended to science fiction fans, adventurous fiction readers, feminists and people of all stripes. Much is made of Butler as a black, female, science fiction writer, but she is first and foremost a writer bringing mysteries and questions back from the spheres and everyone should read her.

Brilliant!

I could've happily left the series halfway through. The second set of books that starts with clays Ark read like a completely different story. Both stories had value but I think they should've been separated. That being said I still enjoyed both portions

Great read, teaches a lot about sensitivity and emotions. Octavia Butler will take on a trip through inner worlds.

When I thought about Seed to Harvest…all four books in the Patternist Series, Octavia Butler’s message is diversity..ie what does it mean to be Human???

Interesting to read these books in the chronological order of the story rather than the order they were written, Wild Seed and Mind of my Mind are my faves if i have to pick, out of this group. But each book is wonderful in it's way. And complete. You could read them in any order and enjoy them on their own, but there is so much more there if you binge them all. Very satisfying stuff.