A stunning new edition of Book One of the Patternist series, in which two immortals chase each other across continents and centuries, binding their fates together – and changing the destiny of the human race.
‘A book that shifted my life… Epic, game-changing, moving and brilliant’ VIOLA DAVIS
‘Will rewire the mind of whoever reads it… you don’t emerge from the journey unaffected’ NNEDI OKORAFOR
—
It begins when two immortals meet in an African forest.
Doro is an ancient and powerful spirit. Facing a lonely eternity, he breeds supernaturally gifted people into empires of human perfection. He kills without question, jumping from body to body to sustain his life. Doro fears no one – until he meets Anyanwu.
Anyanwu wields her power differently. She can heal injuries, reverse aging and transform her body into human or animal. Her wisdom helps birth entire tribes; people respect and fear her. But Anyanwu never feels threatened – until she meets Doro.
The moment they meet, Doro covets Anyanwu. Theirs is an epic story of love and hate, one that echoes down the generations as they chase each other across continents and centuries.
Neither will bend to the other’s will. But together they could change the world.
A PATTERNIST NOVEL: BOOK ONE
‘A book that shifted my life… Epic, game-changing, moving and brilliant’ VIOLA DAVIS
‘Will rewire the mind of whoever reads it… you don’t emerge from the journey unaffected’ NNEDI OKORAFOR
—
It begins when two immortals meet in an African forest.
Doro is an ancient and powerful spirit. Facing a lonely eternity, he breeds supernaturally gifted people into empires of human perfection. He kills without question, jumping from body to body to sustain his life. Doro fears no one – until he meets Anyanwu.
Anyanwu wields her power differently. She can heal injuries, reverse aging and transform her body into human or animal. Her wisdom helps birth entire tribes; people respect and fear her. But Anyanwu never feels threatened – until she meets Doro.
The moment they meet, Doro covets Anyanwu. Theirs is an epic story of love and hate, one that echoes down the generations as they chase each other across continents and centuries.
Neither will bend to the other’s will. But together they could change the world.
A PATTERNIST NOVEL: BOOK ONE
Reviews
One of the most significant literary artists of the twentieth century. One cannot exaggerate the impact she has had
Butler's prose, always pared back to the bone, delineates the painful paradoxes of metamorphosis with compelling precision
[Her] evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human
No novel I've read this year has felt as relevant, as gut-wrenching or as essential... If you've ever tweeted "All Lives Matter", someone needs to shove Kindred into your hand, and quickly
Kindred is that rare magical artifact . . . the novel one returns to, again and again
One cannot finish Kindred without feeling changed. It is a shattering work of art
[A] must-read novel
Everyone should read at least one novel by the grand dame of science fiction, and Kindred is a perfect (and harrowing and disturbing and brilliant) place to start
The immediate effect of reading Octavia Butler's Kindred is to make every other time travel book in the world look as if it's wimping out... This is a brilliant book, utterly absorbing, very well written, and deeply distressing. It's very hard to read, not because it's not good but because it's so good
A searing, caustic examination of bizarre and alien practices on the third planet from the sun
One of the most original, thought-provoking works examining race and identity
If you haven't read Butler, you don't yet understand how rich the possibilities of science fiction can be
Butler's books are exceptional
Few writers in our field are so good at blending page-turners with philosophical questions so seamlessly
A dark, compelling and still horribly resonant time travel story
Impossible to turn away from once you've devoured the first few pages
