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Author Topic: Looking for the name of a book...
aragorn64
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I ask here because I believe I originally heard about this book by a recommendation from OSC, so I figure somebody on here would likely know the name. I've never read it, only heard about it, and I can't for the life of me find the name.

Apparently it's a sort of fantasy book where whenever the main character dies, his spirit immediately takes over the body of the creature closest to him. Ring a bell to anyone? That's about all I know about it.

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Strider
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It's a series of books. You might be thinking about Wild Seed. Though there are others.

I remember first reading about that book in OSC's "How to write science fiction and fantasy." Man, that was a long time ago.

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aragorn64
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Thanks, I'm pretty sure that's the one I was looking for!
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Strider
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Anytime. Glad to help out a fellow king of Gondor.
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Jeff C.
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Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. That's the first thing I thought of. It's a horrible book, in my opinion, used primarily by the author as a vehicle for anti-male feminism. I had to read it for a Women in Literature class in college and I honestly thought it was trash.

Essentially, it's a book about immortals. The main character is a African female (most of Butler's protagonists are black women, most likely because that is what she is) who never dies and can change her form to look any age. She has had hundreds of children over the years, but at the start of the novel she lives alone.

The other immortal, who is a man, is like the character you previously described. He "invades" each host with his essence and slowly kills them until their body withers and dies, like he's draining their life out of them. He gets the girl to fall in love with him, but then she learns (pretty quickly) that he's evil. He captures her and takes her away from her home, and then she becomes his slave. It is basically an analogy for men enslaving women and how it is essentially the same as rape.

It's a horrible waste of your time.

Honestly, I have only read two books by this particular author and I didn't care for either of them. Lilith's Brood was the other one. They were both about women who get raped (or very nearly), and how men are just plain evil.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with having a black woman as your protagonist. There's not even anything wrong with having a scene that exhibits near-rape or whatever (although for my tastes, I say no thanks), but come on. Stop with the redundancy.

I don't know. Maybe her other books are different? I really hope so, because honestly I don't see the appeal at all. If you're a feminism major, I could see reading it. But still, even if you are, there are other books that do it way better.

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rivka
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quote:
Originally posted by Jeff C.:
Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. That's the first thing I thought of. It's a horrible book, in my opinion, used primarily by the author as a vehicle for anti-male feminism.

Wow. It's not that I materially disagree with the details you present (although I do think there are some significant spoilers that are unfriendly to anyone who has not read the books in question). It's just that your perspective on them is SO different from not only mine but everyone else I know who has read them.

I adore Butler's books. The saddest thing about finally reading her Fledgling recently is that there are no more Butler novels for me to read for the first time. Then again, I plan to keep rereading the Lilith's Brood trilogy and several of the books that Wild Seed forms a loose series with.

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aragorn64
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Thanks for the comments rivka and Jeff, I've never read anything by her so I can't really comment on any of it. I picked up Wild Seed and have read the first chapter or so, and liked it so far.

Doro definitely seems to be the character I was thinking of. However, when I initially read about the series/book years ago it seemed to describe how he first discovered his power (the first time he was killed). That doesn't seem to be in this book so far. Is that in one of the other books in the series?

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rivka
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It is in that book. You'll get there.

Heh. Just now, trying to find exactly where in the book it is, I found the Google Books preview of OSC's How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy: and he says it's page 177 of 179. [Wink]

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Jeff C.
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quote:
Originally posted by rivka:
quote:
Originally posted by Jeff C.:
Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. That's the first thing I thought of. It's a horrible book, in my opinion, used primarily by the author as a vehicle for anti-male feminism.

Wow. It's not that I materially disagree with the details you present (although I do think there are some significant spoilers that are unfriendly to anyone who has not read the books in question). It's just that your perspective on them is SO different from not only mine but everyone else I know who has read them.

I adore Butler's books. The saddest thing about finally reading her Fledgling recently is that there are no more Butler novels for me to read for the first time. Then again, I plan to keep rereading the Lilith's Brood trilogy and several of the books that Wild Seed forms a loose series with.

Here is the most probable reason for my perspective. I was in a class about women who wrote books and each author was usually writing about feminism. That was partly the point that the teacher wanted us to see when we read them. As a result, I was encumbered by far too many stories about men being evil to women. This book has a few scenes like that and even hints at rape several times. There are only two immortals (as far as I'm aware) and the only one besides the protanist is an evil man who enjoys killing people.

I could be wrong and maybe this person's reading will be different, but whatever happened, it ruined the story for me and I wasn't a fan of the author.

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Strider
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quote:
Originally posted by rivka:
quote:
Originally posted by Jeff C.:
Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. That's the first thing I thought of. It's a horrible book, in my opinion, used primarily by the author as a vehicle for anti-male feminism.

Wow. It's not that I materially disagree with the details you present (although I do think there are some significant spoilers that are unfriendly to anyone who has not read the books in question). It's just that your perspective on them is SO different from not only mine but everyone else I know who has read them.

It's been many years since I read it (I picked it up soon after reading the how to write science fiction and fantasy book), but I remember thinking the book was excellent. I think I'll add it to my re-read list!
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rivka
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Jeff, it is absolutely true that Butler's work focused on a specific aspect of feminism. And if that theme of her books was smacked into your head with a thematic hammer, I can understand being soured on her work. [Wink]

I think it's a shame, but there are so many other great authors out there, I'm sure you'll find something else to read. [Big Grin]

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Strider
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Point of interest, the How to Write book was the first book I ever read by OSC. Upon completing it I picked up Wild Seed and Hart's Hope. One day in school I'm reading Hart's Hope and a kid comes up to me and the following exchange happened:

kid: Oh, OSC, have you read Ender's Game?
me: no, but I think I've heard of it.
kid: Oh man, you have to read that book!
me: okay.

And well, the rest is history. [Smile]

It's conceivable I eventually would've have picked up Ender's Game on my own, but who knows when!

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SteveRogers
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I have a copy of Hart's Hope, but I haven't yet read it.
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Strider
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For many years it was my single favorite OSC book (Ender's Game has reclaimed that title now). When I met OSC at a book signing (probably a decade ago) I mentioned this to him, and he shared the sentiment. Also, he signed the book to "Strider." [Smile]

But I should warn you, there are a lot of disturbing parts in that book. It's a very dark book, but it's also very beautiful.

edit - hmmm...maybe that was more like seven or eight years ago. Interestingly, I also had him sign Maps in a Mirror, and Xenocide, which back then was my favorite of the Ender books.

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SteveRogers
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I don't have any issues with disturbing content. I used to be a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk's books, and I'd even read Snuff which is about a porn star.

Hart's Hope has just been in my to-read pile for a long time, and I just haven't gotten around to it. [Smile]

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Strider
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Ahhh..well, then Hart's Hope will be child's play for you.

Speaking of Palahniuk...I have a fun story about him sending me a box of chocolates.

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SteveRogers
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I went to a stop on his book tour when Snuff was being released. I have a signed... *cough* blow -up sex doll. . .*cough* You heard nothing!
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Strider
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hah, so cool! Tell me you got a picture of you two with her.
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SteveRogers
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I'm afraid you had to enter a "lottery" to get a personal signing, so my book just went through an assembly line. Only like twenty "lottery" winners got to actually talk to him. It was a really great experience, but I was still sad I didn't get to actually talk to him or get pictures.
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advice for robots
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Not sure I'd bother with a book signing in which only 20 people got to talk to the author. Having a signed copy is fun, but not worth the trouble of going to an event like that.
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SteveRogers
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Well, he still spoke, and they gave out stuff. I didn't drive to it; I rode with someone else. So, it wasn't much of an expense for me either way. There were just a TON of people there.
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Strider
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afr, also, just as an aside, I wouldn't judge Palahniuk by this whole limited in person signings thing. The guy is a genuinely awesome and very nice person.

I sent him a fan letter once, and he responded with a package including a letter, two signed books, and a box of chocolates. I was blown away.

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advice for robots
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Oh, no, I'm sure he's a great guy. I'd love to meet him, too, and that's awesome that he responded to you like that. Hearing him speak alone would be worth the event. But just showing up in a big, crowded bookstore and buying a previously signed book without ever seeing the author wouldn't be worth it to me.
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Strider
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Sure, agreed.
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SteveRogers
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Well, he did speak at this event. He read a short story and a chapter from the book the tour for which the tour was in support. And he also premiered the trailer for the film adaptation of Choke and gave his commentary on the trailer and the process of the book being made into a film.
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