Her decision causes Doro to have a change of heart. Anyanwu becomes tired of Doro's control, since his immortality makes him the only permanent thing in her life. One man he brings to mate with one of Anyanwu's daughters ruins the harmony of the colony, resulting in several deaths. She protects her people until Doro's arrival, at which point he forces his breeding program on her community. To his surprise, Anyanwu has created her own colony, which in many ways is more successful than Doro's. Afraid that Doro will kill her now that Isaac is not there to protect her, Anyanwu transforms into an animal and runs away.Īfter a century, Doro finally tracks Anyanwu down to a Louisiana plantation. Anyanwu realizes she is too weak to heal Isaac and he dies. Trying to protect Anyanwu, Isaac accidentally kills Nweke and suffers a heart attack. During her transition, Nweke attacks Anyanwu. He has come home because he senses that Anyanwu's daughter, Nweke, is fully coming into her powers. His relationship with Anyanwu has deteriorated, and one of the only things keeping him from killing her is her successful marriage to Isaac. Anyanwu eventually agrees once Isaac convinces her that she could be the only one to get through to Doro.įifty years later, Doro returns to the seed village. When they arrive at the seed village, Doro tells Anyanwu that she is to marry Isaac, and bear his children and the children of whomever else Doro chooses. Anyanwu witnesses Doro's barbaric ways and plain disregard for his people, which frightens her. Feeling threatened by her shape-shifting ability, he wonders whether he holds enough control over her. By partnering Anyanwu and Isaac together, Doro hopes to obtain children with very special abilities.ĭoro discovers that when Anyanwu transforms into an animal, he cannot sense or kill her. Isaac has very strong telekinetic powers and is one of Doro's most successful seeds. Although Doro plans to impregnate her himself, he also wants to share her with his son Isaac. Doro convinces Anyanwu to travel with him to America by telling her he will give her children she will never have to watch die. When they meet, Doro senses Anyanwu's abilities and wants to add her to one of his seed villages in the New World, where he breeds super humans.

Doro is a spirit who can inhabit other people's bodies, killing anyone and anything in his path, while Anyanwu is a woman with healing powers who can transform herself into any human or animal. Wild Seed is the story of two immortal Africans named Doro and Anyanwu.

The other books in the series are, in order within the Patternist chronology: Mind of My Mind (1977), Clay's Ark (1984), Survivor (1978), and Patternmaster (1976). Although published in 1980 as the fourth book of the Patternist series, it is the earliest book in the chronology of the Patternist world. Wild Seed is a science fiction novel by American writer Octavia Butler.

Wild seed octavia butler series