Mind of My Mind (The Patternist #2) – Octavia E. Butler
From the critically acclaimed and award-winning author comes the stunning story of telepathically sensitive Mary and her fight to free herself and her people from an immortal being who uses them for their bodies. In this stunning Book Two of the Patternist series, the human race is ready to break free and win their freedom. For 4,000 years, an immortal has spread the seeds of a master race, using the downtrodden as his private breeding stock. But now a young telepath has found a way to awaken–and rule–her superhuman kind, igniting a psychic battle as she challenges her creator for her right to free her people.
My Review of Mind of My Mind
I didn’t quite enjoy this one like I did Wild Seed. It didn’t have the same emotive impact as that one. However, it was still a solidly decent read, or listen in my case as again, I listened to the audio version. Considering Wild Seed was written well after this one, all of them were written backwards, with the 4th book first and then each prequel – it was well done. She must have had the whole universe mapped out for years.
In the 1970’s. Doro is still going strong. Using eugenics to breed a superior race of humans with remarkable abilities. Where is he going with it all, and who is Mary – a young girl from the ghettos of California. Why is she so important to him and how can she be the beginning of his downfall? And humanities?
I listened to the audio version of this one straight after Wild Seed and was very excited to listen. I soon realised, however, that the narrator for this one was vastly different to the prior. She was extremely monotone. I found it very difficult to tell which character she was narrating and I found it really difficult to listen because I would lose interest very easily. I missed the rapturing narration of Wild Seed. And it dampened my enjoyment of the story a lot, I imagine.
Having said that, it was still an interesting read and it was not too long. I enjoyed all of the characters and of course, I love to dislike Doro. It still had that bleak feel to it as Wild Seed did. And I can understand how something big is building up. I am excited to listen to the 3rd one, Clay’s Ark. Yet again a different narrator. A male voice this time. Interested to see how that will go.
I would still recommend the series as a whole. You can read it in published order which begins with the 4th book (or technically 5th) and works its way backward. Wild Seed is the first in chronological order, yet the last book in the series that was published. And you can tell already that Wild Seed was more polished. Written after her other “masterpiece” (that I am yet to read), Kindred. She came into Wild Seed with a few years more experience in writing and you can tell. I am regretting that I didn’t realise the series was published backwards, I think I would have liked to read in published order. However, the story is still flowing along really well. So I don’t know if my enjoyment of the story would have been better or not. And if I had abandoned the series going backward – I would have missed Wild Seed, which is my book of the year so far!
Give the series a go if you enjoy speculative sci-fi, that focuses on the manipulation of human genetic lines in order to reach some kind of psychic superior super-race. A great read.
(4 / 5)
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