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Wild Seed

Octavia E. Butler

First published July 1980
Type Novel
Series Patternist #1

Synopsis

<br><i>WorldCat:</i> When two immortals meet in the long-ago past, the destiny of mankind is changed forever. For a thousand years, Doro has cultivated a small African village, carefully breeding its people in search of seemingly unattainable perfection. He survives through the centuries by stealing the bodies of others, a technique he has so thoroughly mastered that nothing on Earth can kill him. But when a gang of New World slavers destroys his village, ruining his grand experiment, Doro is forced to go west and begin anew. He meets Anyanwu, a centuries-old woman whose means of immortality are as kind as his are cruel. She is a shapeshifter, capable of healing with a kiss, and she recognizes Doro as a tyrant. Though many humans have tried to kill them, these two demi-gods have never before met a rival. Now they begin a struggle that will last centuries and permanently alter the nature of humanity.

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Awards

YearAwardCategoryStatus
1981 Locus Poll Award Best SF Novel Nominee/Finalist
1995 James Tiptree, Jr. Award / Otherwise Award Retrospective Nominee/Finalist

Publications (24)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
July 1980 Cover Wild Seed Doubleday Novel
September 1980 Cover Wild Seed Sidgwick & Jackson Novel
September 1981 Cover Wild Seed Timescape / Pocket Books Novel 9
1983 Science Fiction Special 44 Sidgwick & Jackson Omnibus
December 1988 Cover Wild Seed Questar / Popular Library Novel 3
April 1990 Cover Wild Seed Questar / Popular Library Novel
February 1999 Cover Wild Seed Aspect / Warner Books Novel 3
February 1999 Cover Wild Seed Aspect / Warner Books Novel
February 1999 Cover Wild Seed Sagebrush Education Resources Novel
October 1999 Wild Seed Sagebrush Education Resources Novel
December 2000 Cover Wild Seed Gollancz Novel
April 2001 Cover Wild Seed Warner Books Novel 3
August 2005 Cover Wild Seed Science Fiction Book Club Novel
January 2007 Cover Seed to Harvest Warner Books Omnibus 1
July 2008 Cover Wild Seed Paw Prints Novel
July 2009 Cover Wild Seed Audible Studios Novel
July 2012 Cover Wild Seed Open Road Integrated Media Novel
July 2012 Cover Seed to Harvest Open Road Integrated Media Omnibus |1
July 2012 Cover Wild Seed Open Road Integrated Media Novel
April 2014 Cover Seed to Harvest Headline Omnibus
March 2020 Cover Wild Seed Grand Central Publishing Novel
November 2020 Cover Wild Seed Headline Novel
January 2021 Wild Seed Recorded Books Novel
January 2021 Cover Wild Seed Headline Novel