-
ISBN: 9780446361880
-
Publication date: 08/01/1994
-
Publisher: HACHETTE BOOK GROUP
-
Pages: 224
-
Copyright Year: 1977
-
Author: Octavia E Butler
Mind Of My Mind by Octavia Butler is the 2nd book in the Patternist series. I have to admit that I have not read the first book in the series (Wild Seed), but this story stands on its own. I did not know this was part of a series until I finished the book, but that did not distract from my enjoyment of the tale.
Doro is a 4,000 year-old immortal who survives by jumping from one body to another, but whenever he jumps into a new body, the body survives, but host personality is killed. He has been spending the last few thousand years trying to build a new race by breeding people with various psychic abilities. Originally these were folks who had these abilities occurring naturally but now most are descendants of his breeding program. When he fathers or bears children in the stolen bodies, they inherit the characteristics of the host body. He prefers to inhabit people with some of these abilities and then father (or mother) children with others he has bred in the past.
Latents are folks with latent psychic abilities. They are usually troubled by psychic noise from the people around them, but do not have the ability to control or often even to realize the source of the noise. Actives are latents who passed through a transition and have gained more control over their abilities. Different actives have different abilities with mind reading being the most prevalent. Actives cannot generally stand being in close vicinity to each other as they develop a sort of feedback loop between themselves.
Mary is one of Doro’s latest offspring. He thinks she may be special and he forces her to work with and marry another active, Karl, who helps her through her transition to an active state. Her transition creates something special that even Doro could not have foreseen.
I really liked this story. It was a different sort of universe with a lot of depth and thought behind it. It asks questions about power and empathy and consequences of actions. Is it right to force people to achieve other ends? Does the ability to do something make it right to do it? Where do you draw the line between supporting your ‘family’ and the rest of society. Is it slavery if the the slave submits to the master willingly? Butler doesn’t really answers the questions she asks. She leaves it up to us to think and decide for ourselves.
____
My Latest book is now available on Amazon as of January 3, 2025.
For a limited time, you can get the Kindle version of Plastivore by Matt Truxaw for only 99 cents.
Share this:
Please take a moment to support Amazing Stories with a one-time or recurring donation via Patreon. We rely on donations to keep the site going, and we need your financial support to continue quality coverage of the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres as well as supply free stories weekly for your reading pleasure.
https://www.patreon.com/amazingstoriesmag
Recent Comments