Mohamed Abdul Mageed Abdul Mageed itibaren Barney, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21, UK
I had my first encounter with Octavia Butler last March when I read Wild Seed, the first book in the Patternist series. I was completely blown away by her storytelling and her imagination. I promptly went out and purchased the omnibus version of the series, Seed to Harvest. I thoroughly enjoyed all the books. Somewhere along the way, I learned that there was one book in the series that had been left out of the collection, Survivor. Butler hated the book so much, she never allowed it to be reprinted. Of course, that got my curiosity going, but not enough to pay over $100 for a used copy. (The current low price on Amazon is $134.01 for a paperback, $603.50 for a hardback.) Jo Walton did a review of it a few months ago on Tor.com and my curiosity was piqued once again. On my most recent visit to the library that I finally bought a library card for (grrr), I found a copy in the most excellent of library science fiction sections. Of course, I had to check it out. So, I guess the real question is: Why did Octavia Butler hate Survivor so much? In her review, Jo Walton states that Butler called it her "Star Trek" book. That in and of itself doesn't sound so awful. The story is good and it is worthy of an episode of that boundary-breaking series. I think the real reason Butler loathed it is that she wanted to bring up issues of race, sex, and religion, and she chickened out. She approaches the these topics like a child playing tag--a quick touch before running off in another direction. As a result, the story never develops any depth. She also spends too much time having characters telling each other what's going on rather than putting the reader in the action. The best parts of the book are the scenes that are happening in the "now" rather than the "then". I do have to say that the actual story was quite good. However, it wasn't particularly original, even for 1978. I also think the characters weren't developed very well. The protagonist, Alanna, is supposed to be 15 years old, but she has the maturity of a woman 10-15 years older. In a manner reminiscent of the original Star Trek, she is able to figure out almost every situation and tell others what is going on in excruciating detail. What I learned in reading Survivor, is that reading the worst book by a master author is still better than reading a lot of the crap that's out there. Despite its numerous flaws, Survivor, kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. If you are a fan of Octavia Butler, it's definitely worth trying to get a hold of a copy through your public library. However, do not pay $603.50 plus shipping.
sequel to the first. equally enthralling.