O My Mind

The only moral imperative for them is now that the Pattern allows them more control over themselves to treat the "mutes" kindly when using them. Anyanwu the other immortal protagonist of Wild Seed , whose psi abilities are for healing and have nothing to do with the mind is still around in Mind of My Mind , and she thinks that what Doro and the Patternists are doing is terrible, but she has absolutely no power to stop them. And for the most part she's described from Mary's perspective. Even though Anyanwu took care of Mary when she was a child, Mary comes to utterly dismiss her.

If the reader doesn't get to the bottom of the paragraph and say "That's completely evil," then no one will. I've read many other books in which characters do and think horrible things without being checked in any way; some in which everyone in the story seems to conspire to give me the creeps. In some of these cases I know it's because the author him- or herself is creepy or careless; in some I watch very carefully for the author to give some reassuring narrative sign that he or she knows what I've spotted and has a good reason for it.

I had neither of these reactions to Mind of My Mind. I think Butler very deliberately assigned this task of judgment to the reader. Maybe it's a test. And maybe it's also a commentary on some of those other books, the ones that leave a few readers vainly protesting while the author blithely receives accolades for his or her accurate portrayal of human nature. Apr 06, Dichotomy Girl rated it it was amazing Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was interesting and makes more sense now that I know that the internal chronological order that I am reading these in, are not the published order , because Doro is not the most powerful thing in the universe anymore.

This strangely saddened me. Even though he is a inhuman body-stealing monster, you spend several books wondering what his end game is and kind of hoping that he'll achieve it because then you'll KNOW During the final batt 4. Even though he is a inhuman body-stealing monster, you spend several books wondering what his end game is and kind of hoping that he'll achieve it because then you'll KNOW During the final battle between Mary and Doro, I found myself torn over who to root for. Doro is not at all a good guy, Mary's not either, but definitely seems to be the lesser of two evils.

But anyone can see that she has the Potential to become a thousand times more powerful than Doro ever was, and therefore a thousand times more dangerous.

Plus, I kept remembering the scene in Wild Seed where Isaac tells Anywanyu that she could help Doro regain his humanity. Honestly, I think she succeeds in this, and that is why Mary ultimately wins. And I can't help thinking that in the long run Mary will be much more harmful to humanity. Apr 17, Annie rated it it was amazing. My favorite author ever. She died just a couple years ago. I'm heartbroken because i wanted to meet her, shake her hand, tell her how much I identify with her work, how much she infuses me with a desire to write.

Jul 07, Wendy rated it liked it Shelves: This was a surprisingly short read, which I picked up as part of the Seed to Harvest series, but have read before Wild Seed. I'm not sure what I ultimately expected, but what was there was a bit of a let down. There were many themes and issues raised, but none truly pursued.

Most notably so was the issue of race. For the most part, characters physical appearances were only vaguely described. Most times, when we came to know someone was Black, it was because Mary was making a comparison or wishing This was a surprisingly short read, which I picked up as part of the Seed to Harvest series, but have read before Wild Seed. Rachel's race is introduced as a non sequitur that serves no further purpose but to add to Jan's "Oh god, niggers," comment later we learn earlier that Jan is racist when a Black boy happens past her and therefore we assume she is White, as there does not seem to be any other option but Black or White.

Later, Emma angrily raises the issue of non-telepaths being referred to as "mutes," which she compares to "niggers. Emma's tirade is particularly hypocritical since she is as much a slave to Doro as all the rest of Doro's children whom he keeps in line with violence and threats of death. Overall, this was a very disturbing theme. The notion that one man is working to breed people with super human powers, particularly telepathy. Those who are failed experiments are left to die, while the successes eventually come together thanks to Mary, who is Doro's ultimate success and thereby becomes his ultimate rival.

Between the two of them, there are thousands of people running around the country with the ability to control minds, or inflicting horrible violence against others because they can't control their own minds. Apparently, domestic violence is caused by this lack of control in active and latent telepaths. Mary is the mother figure whom we assume is the representation of nurturing, but in fact, while she displays much greater conscience than Doro, she's most certainly not a Mother Theresa figure.

One thing I did appreciate was the fact that there was no good vs. Doro might have been considered an evil worthy of destruction, but how much of Mary could truly be considered "good? Jul 30, Michael rated it really liked it Shelves: Captivating in a very creative and insidious narrative. Though the writer is black, the issue here is translated into race in another sense.

This tale, written in , covers the emergence of a race of telepaths led by a teenage girl, Mary, bred for her powers to bind other telepaths to her in a cult-like "Patternist" society. The groups secret takeover of LA suburbs involves harnessing ordinary humanity the "mutes", or sometimes "pets" or "slaves" , a process sometimes as creepy as "Invasion Captivating in a very creative and insidious narrative.

The groups secret takeover of LA suburbs involves harnessing ordinary humanity the "mutes", or sometimes "pets" or "slaves" , a process sometimes as creepy as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".

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Yet, most times you are rooting for them to thrive, both because many are trying to reform their psychic greed and because all much more human than the real master, Doro, who has been breeding them for thousands of years for some dangerous, mysterious agenda. Certainly a walk on the wild side, which is very well done. This book is preceded by "Patternmaster" and succeeded by "Wild Seed" and "Clay's Ark", which I will definitely keep an eye out for. I read this whole book on the same day I saw the total eclipse, and the two experiences echoed each other in a way, a glimpse into a completely unexpected way of seeing things View all 5 comments.

An enjoyable sequel to "Wild Seed". The story is thought-provoking with an unexpected end, so typical of the writing of Octavia E. Mar 03, C. G rated it it was amazing Shelves: It would be interesting to compare Mary and Olamina's approaches to leadership. Apr 23, Carla Estruch rated it really liked it Shelves: I expected this book to continue the story of the first, but Butler clearly had in mind a much grander scheme for the series. The immortal Doro plays an important part, but his sometime companion Anyanwu is left almost entirely in the background.

Instead, the story is told mainly from the point of view of Mary, one of their many descendants. The purpose-bred descendant of an immortal sociopath develops an unusual ability that brings her people together. Butler has clearly thought through some of the practicalities of the evolution of psionic powers.

However, the book does less well on two other fronts. The characters in the book are almost uniformly flat. While there's no need to match the histrionics of space opera, Butler's characters are so understated that they almost seem asleep. Big things happen, but there's very little reaction one way or another. With a few exceptions, everything is described in a distant, almost clinical tone.

To some extent, this matched the manner of the protagonist, but it made for less than enthralling reading. At times, it felt less like a novel than a history of how the telepathic Pattern was formed. Even a history, however, might make some mention of the sociological impacts of this radical change in human interaction. Doro's descendants control hundreds or thousands of 'mutes' non-telepaths , and the emergence of the Pattern exacerbates the situation.

Yet the mutes play a minimal role in the story. There's not even much token mention of their situation - mostly, they're dismissed out of hand. I presume that this was a deliberate choice by Butler to convey the attitude of the telepaths, and the fact that they treat the mutes as chattel, to be used or discarded at will.

It's an interesting comparison to how humans treat animals now which I doubt she intended , and how we sometimes treat other humans which I presume she at least considered. But because there's no introspection or outside voice to point this out, the point risks being too subtle. I'd like to give Butler credit for this subtlety - for forcing the reader to constantly be on their guard for the choice between empathizing with likable characters even sociopathic Doro is likable and keeping in mind that they're doing awful things.

I'm not sure, though that credit is warranted. The non-judgmental tone of the first two books is similar, and Butler could easily have offered more balanced social commentary without hitting the reader over the head with it. I was interested in the theme of this book, but disappointed with Butler's near-abandonment of Anyanwu's viewpoint. As an analysis of the broad concept of how psionic powers might develop, the series stands up, so far. As a story of individuals and human emotion, it falls short. Sep 17, Alexandra rated it it was amazing Shelves: Just go read it.

As I mentioned in Wild Seed, I am glad I read that novel first - the background it provides for Doro, and Emma, is devastatingly important. Of course you could read this first - publication order - and then have the background filled in This book is very focussed on Doro and the people he manipulates people to his own ends. Even when other characters - Emma Anwanyu , and especially Mary - get to tell their own story, it's a Just go read it.

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Even when other characters - Emma Anwanyu , and especially Mary - get to tell their own story, it's always connected to Doro: He is the Patternmaster. He is the puppetmaster. This book takes place over a much shorter timeframe than Wild Seed - just a few decades. In the prologue, Mary is a small child in an abusive home; the narrative picks up with Mary, one of Doro's many children and an important part of his experimentation, in her late teens. Mary becomes the focus of the story as she seems to be the fulfilment of Doro's plans, and it basically follows her development and discovery of her powers.

Unsurprisingly, Mind follows some of the same themes as Wild Seed. Why humans acts they way they do, how compulsions can work and why we act in our own worst interests; what slavery can look like. It develops the discussion of the difference between haves and have-nots to a greater extent, and the consequences of power. The idea of family and its power as well as its destructiveness.

Humanity at its best and worst.

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This book isn't always pleasant to read, but it is always powerful and it's always well written and I will definitely be reading it again. Apr 28, Autumn rated it it was amazing Shelves: I joined Goodreads sometime in , and right away discovered that I could make a list of all of the books I'd been meaning to read. I re-read the first book in the series, Wild Seed, earlier this year and wasn't crazy about it upon re-read, but had to keep going to finish all of the works of my favorite author. I am so glad that I finally read this book. It continues the story of Do I joined Goodreads sometime in , and right away discovered that I could make a list of all of the books I'd been meaning to read.

It continues the story of Doro and Anyanwu now known as Emma , moving the story into the late 20th century. Doro is still continuing his eugenic experiments in an effort to build his tribe of powerful psychic beings. The book opens with the birth of Mary, who becomes the main character and the most important offspring Doro has created yet. The book deals with psychic powers in a new way, and is definitely a page turner. I really got into the story and loved the way Butler went with the second book in this series.

I'd highly recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi. It's not totally necessary to read the first book, Wild Seed, first, but that does contribute quite a bit to the story that's told here. This book is a modern masterpiece. Jun 12, MeiLin Miranda rated it really liked it Recommends it for: The follow-up to Wild Seed is not as strong, but few books are; Wild Seed was a tour de force.

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Mind of My Mind was also written first, and it shows. For instance, the character of Emma, so fully realized in Wild Seed , just feels I don't know that Butler had her complete in her head yet--not surprising since she probably wasn't. Seeing her so complete in Patternist 1 and then so different in 2 felt strange. Now that I've finished the entire series, I think I might read it no The follow-up to Wild Seed is not as strong, but few books are; Wild Seed was a tour de force.

Now that I've finished the entire series, I think I might read it not in chronological order but in the order Butler wrote it. And I'm not sure I'd read Clay's Ark , even though it was written last, I realize the world is bleak sometimes, but yowie. Re-read for the second time. I was crazy about this the first time I read it, and saw it as the strongest book in the Patternist series. Maybe because I already knew how the book ends, and how the pattern works, it wasn't as fun reading it again.

I would skip reading Clay's Ark and Survivor a second time as I didn't enjoy those that much, but I will probably read Patternmaster again. Dec 19, Paul rated it it was amazing. Octavia Butler masters the genre. These books could easily be movies. I look forward to the rest of the series and I wonder why it took me so long to hear about her and her books. I read more fantasy than scifi by far but Butler's work joins both genres seamlessly.

Sep 12, Melody rated it really liked it. Picked this up at an estate sale the other day. I'd long ago read my original copy to tatters, so it was fun to re-read after many, many years. It's got a lot of earmarks of other lates SF, and it feels a little clunky when one compares it to Butler's later stuff- but it's still a ripping good read. Feb 24, Peta rated it it was amazing.

Octavia Butler keep surprising me with her stories. Mind of my mind is part two of the patternist series and so far I'm not bored and I want more more more. Mary was the protagonist with power, strength, and compassion that I loved I can't wait to get to the next story. The Patternists turn people into slaves - how can I cheer for her??? But down all those generations, there has been no one like Mary.

Only Mary is able to draw others to her side, into a complex network of global psychic energy that unites them and regenerates them until they are more than the sum of their parts — they become The Pattern. Doro is a disembodied parasitic entity who moves from body to body, devouring the life-force and inhabiting each for a short while before moving on to the next. For four thousand years he has been selectively breeding Humanity to enhance psionic talents — in the main telepathy — but also rare additional talents such as healing, psychometry and psychokinesis.

Doro, who holds the power of Life and Death over his people, insists that she marry a white male telepath, Karl, believing that he may be able to help her through her transition. Indeed, none of the telepaths - with the possible exception of Seth, whose involvement in the tale is minimal - are very likeable people. Their actions are often selfish brutal and violent, and there is little compassion shown by any of them. They are, however, products of their environment and to a certain extent Butler is attempting to show what happens when one is endowed with power without the limits of accountability.

Mary effectively creates an instant dictatorship, answering only to Doro. Karl owned their minds.

They were just ordinary people who had answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Karl did no entertaining — was almost a hermit except for the succession of women whom he lured in and kept until they bored him. The servants existed more to look after the house and grounds than to look after Karl himself. Still, he had chosen them less for their professional competence than for the fact they had few if any living relatives. Few people to be pacified if he accidentally got too rough with them.

He would not have hurt them deliberately. He had conditioned them, programmed them carefully to do their work and obey him in every way. He had programmed them to be content with their jobs. He even paid them well. But his power made him dangerous to ordinary people — especially those who worked near him every day. In an instant of uncontrolled anger, he could have killed them all. They have control of local government and have taken over a school to educate their own kind.

Doro, now worried by what he has created, orders Mary to call a halt to the expansion of her Pattern, but she cannot, for, like Doro, she is a mental parasite and needs the Pattern to grow in order to feed on the life-energy of her thralls. Butler is not afraid to delve into the dark side of the human psyche and drag its darkest desires into the open air. The motives of most of the characters are at base, selfish, such as those of Rachel, a powerful psychic healer.

I can tell that much. I can feel a difference. Yes, you make slaves of people? My parents taught me. Some rogue telepaths for instance are summarily executed, deemed too dangerous to live. It forces us to ask questions of ourselves and perhaps examine our own true motives for what we do and perhaps, more importantly, what we think. Jul 19, Heather rated it really liked it. I think that the reason that I like fantasy and science fiction so much is because I am so intrigued by the way the author's mind works. Tepper, I marvel at the places their imagination takes them.

Since so much fantasy and science fiction these days seems targeted at a younger audience, I'm always glad to find mature, thoughtful stories. And this week it is Octavia Butler that I am thanking the sci fi gods for. I read Wild Seed, the first book chronologically in her Patternist series earlier this week, and last night finished Mind of My Mind.

Mind of My Mind takes the story of Doro and Anyanwu and fast fowards it years. Anyanwu and her family are now living in California, and Doro continues to pay visits to the only other immortal he's ever found. On this trip, he is planning to take Mary, one of his many experiments in creating telepaths, and marry her off to Karl, another of his creations. She is about to go through her transition, the time when those with latent telepathic abilities either learn to control their talent, or go crazy or die in the attempt. When Mary transitions, Doro finds that her power is new, different-and potentially dangerous to him.

Since this is a fairly rare occurrence in his almost years of life, he does not kill her, but watches to see what she will do. She is at the center of the Pattern-a psychic link to other strong telepaths. While she does not control the Pattern itself, she can control the people in it. She soon builds an enclave of other powerful telepaths, all of whom answer to her.

Soon enough, Doro realizes his mistake in not killing her when her new power first asserted itself. As I was reading I was alternately drawn to the mission that Mary took on, and terrified of what it would mean if it was real. Her telepaths can control anyone not a telepath, forcing them to do things while making them so content with their servitude they think they are doing them out of their own free will. This is slavery of a different sort-one with fairly benign masters, assuredly, but slavery nonetheless. While Mary has a symbiotic relationship with her telepaths, they all use the "mutes", as they call non-telepaths, to support them in creating a small empire, while helping them stay hidden from the rest of the world.

This reminds me of the relationship between the Ina and their symbionts in Fledgling, the first of Butler's books I discovered. Mary and her "First Family" of telepaths those she drew to her first , are at times sympathetic characters, and at times ruthless killers. Mary's mission to save latents from themselves seems admirable, but when they do not abide by the rules of her little community they will kill them without much remorse. It seems that ordinarily, telepaths cannot abide each other's company, since they cannot abide mind to mind contact with each other. They also cannot abide children, because no one, not even Mary, can completely block the psychic noise that constantly streams from young minds.

This is another reason that they need the mutes-if their "race" is to continue, they must have someone who can take care of the children without abusing or killing them. Butler blurs the line between good and evil, highlighting the relative nature of so many of the rules of human society. She also examines the very idea of race as a construct, since Doro has been trying for millenia to create a new "race" of people like himself of which he can be a part. Color has nothing to do with it in Doro's worldview-talent is the great dividing line, the one thing that determines a person's worth.

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