Wild Seed (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Octavia Butler
- First Published: 1980
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy
- Time of Work: 1690-1840
- Setting: West Africa and the United States
- Principal Characters: Anyanwu, Doro, Isaac, Thomas, Nweke
- Genres: Long fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: Africa or Africans, Folkloric or magical people, Power, personal or social, Murder or homicide, South or Southerners, Immortality, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, New England, Eighteenth century, Seventeenth century, Cruelty, Science fiction, Vampires
- Locales: Africa, Louisiana, New England
Form and Content
Wild Seed follows the lives of two immortal beings, from 1690 to 1840: Doro, who can shift his “life essence” into the bodies of other people by will, causing their souls or essences to die; and Anyanwu, an Onitsha-Ibo (African) woman who possesses powerful healing skills and the ability to shape-shift, to take any human or animal shape. The story centers on Doro’s struggle to create a race of immortals with extraordinary powers and Anyanwu’s resistance to the cruelty of his methods.
The novel is divided into three books: “Covenant,”...
[The entire page is 2148 words long]
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