Seed

Seed is a book that does exactly what it says on the tin, and no more. Short, straightforward and crisply-written, Rob Ziegler does not add many new ideas to the biopunk genre but delivers a solid pulp thriller. It deals with the intertwined tales of Brood, a destitute orphan, Doss, a government agent, and Sumedha, one of the post-human 'Designers' responsible for genetically modifying crops to survive in Seed's exceedingly bleak post-apocalyptic world. Set in the new dustbowl of an American southwest ravaged by climate change and resource depletion, each of Seed's central trio of characters are - in their own ways - fighting to survive.Brood is perhaps the most sympathetic character, one of millions of migrants ranging the wilderness in search of briefly stable micro-climates in which to raise crops. Doss, too, is well-written; an ageing veteran of numerous government ops, traumatised but driven to succeed, knowing that the moment she looses her usefulness to the corrupt regime in 'New DC' she will be out on her ear. Doss' chapters always entertain and do the most to drive the plot forwards; she also gets to play with the few high-tech toys remaining in Seed's apocalyptic world. Sumedha, by contrast, features rather too much post-human weirdness to be of much interest. He develops into a decent villain, but his early chapters are amongst Seed's least interesting. That said, all three principle characters get decent arcs, whilst adding their own flavour to the unfolding tale.Running through Seed is a pitch-black thread of quiet despair. Brood lives hand-to-mouth, only ever having known a post-collapse world, only once does he express telling surprise at the fact that he needs to plan beyond the next meal. Doss, by contrast, has an understated nostalgia for the former glories of the USA which underpins her contempt for New DC's apathetic elite, and later a bloody quest for revenge. Her encounters with an incompetent general and his battalion of child soldiers are amongst Seed's most haunting. There are some good reflections on loss and hopelessness tucked in between the book's generally action-packed passages. Such gloomy themes, however, make the reader long for a more uplifting conclusion than Seed's ambivalent coda.Implicit in the book's misery is an indictment of the present day's myopic attitude to climate change. Fortunately Ziegler has the restraint not to have his characters harp on about the failings of their predecessors. Insofar as Seed has a message, it is as a cautionary tale. But have no illusions; Ziegler's debut is a punchy thriller, but has no Big Ideas to help it stand out in an increasingly crowded genre. Its plot and characters are perhaps a little too straightforward to be truly memorable. Ultimately Seed is an enjoyable book, but an inessential one.

SEED is a book that takes a bit of time getting in to. The author has crafted a dark post-apocalyptic world where genetically manipulated foodstuffs - seed - is the most coveted of substance, and where government is subservient to massive corporations who control the creation of these superfoods.The technology in SEED is not explained in detail early on, which means a reader is left guessing as to the exact nature of a specific technology - or even people created through such technology - but as you read on things become clearer and the novel turns from slightly frustrating to greatly rewarding. The book rewards those who stick with it, and its ending is epically magnificent and satisfying.Those who like their hard sci-fi with liberal sprinklings of grit, violence, and gloom will definitely enjoy SEED.

A great book, I couldn't put it down. Interesting ideas, good characters and absorbing action. I didn't find it hard to follow, but did find myself getting pulled deeper and deeper into the world.

Premise? Solid. World? Intriguing. Execution? Stumbles.Seed is a book with a lot of promise, but unfortunately, it fails to live up to all of it. Let me begin by saying: don't mistake me. It's a good book, it's simply not a great one.As a exercise in ideas and potential, it is absorbing, and there are a lot of directions it could have taken. As a stand-alone novel, I think it went in the right direction story-wise, but the problem in its execution was two-fold: poor editing and unfortunately shallow characters.Seed is post-apocalyptic sci-fi centered in a world where climate change has run amok and brought about a second dust bowl. It's the 22nd century (so, first of all: hurray! We made it to the 22nd century!), and as the residents of America struggle through a perpetual migrant existence, a corporation has risen to the top of the food chain (literally). Satori manufactures climate-resistant seed to feed humanity, while doing predictably darker things behind the scenes.The nomadic life and particularly the incorporation of many Hispanic and other multiracial characters and themes (characters and themes tragically skipped over in many fantasy and scifi works) lends a unique air to things that immediately piqued my interest. Mexican slang and a decent amount of the dialogue is in (pretty easy to figure out) Spanish. These characters also come with, what appears to be, a rich amount of background to draw from: a special-needs brother, traumatic family situations, military backgrounds, partner/love interests.Unfortunately, while many of the characters seem to think "about" these things, we rarely get any depth to them. We get quick glimpses, but much of the writing style is just that--quick-paced, never seeming to want to dwell too long on any one particular point. In that regard, at least there's no "bog down," but we also sacrifice an emotional and sensory complexity that might have otherwise pulled us deeper into the depths of Ziegler's world.If you want action, you will have plenty. That is one thing that is never sacrificed, and generally speaking, if there's going to be an action scene, there are going to be consequences. You will feel for the characters therein; largely because you may be about to lose some of those you quite liked. The character Doss is typically the star of these particular scenes, and while she could have been something more, unfortunately, her role largely is to be the "action star" of the book, while the character Brood gives us the more human angle of things, as well as experiences some actual growth.The writer is obviously skilled, with a lot of ideas, but the editing is not great. I mean this in several ways. 1. While post-apocalyptic settings aren't necessarily grounded in the scientific, sci-fi has a strong tradition of bearing up that undertone, and particularly where we are getting into genetically modified crops, seemingly organic cities, and clones, we somehow weave through them all with very little explanation. There was no "grounding." 2. Furthermore, it's not uncommon to happen across things like "souls of their feet" and skin "pealing" off, grammatical and spelling errors, as well as a great many reused bits of language to describe certain happenings. A solid editor could've corrected many of these, and while taken individually one might say, "Things happen," the fact that there are so many really does add up over time.In all, this book can be choppy at times and it's nothing that's going to knock your socks off, but for a couple days' entertainment, it's a fun and active stroll through the wasteland. It has its issues, but Seed is worth a read.

The world of Seed is a dystopian mess. The climate is hot and getting hotter. Survival depends on genetically engineered people to engineer heat resistant crops. The engineers do not have much use for regular people any more. The US government is a shell with no real power outside the capital.A pretty good starting point.However, very few characters generate any warmth. Brood, a southwestern migrant, and Colonel Whatshername (I really don't care enough to look it up), a US agent dropped in to salvage a bad situation, are the best we got. They move the plot and you know you are supposed to feel something about them, but they are too remote even as they heroically persevere. At least there is humanity. The genetically engineered people care about little but their research and their own kind. Certainly not other people. They are not human in a way that we would recognize.So the ideas are interesting, the setting unique and unsettling but the overall effect was that I had to make myself finish it. Make a low 3 stars.

I held off reading this because I thought the concept of an intelligent city in an ecological wasteland would be a tiresome new age earth mother fable. I was wrong. The author Rob Zeigler is terrific. GREAT WRITING. The pace is quick. There's action galore. And characters you root for. I just finished 'Parasites' by Mira Grant, '2312' by Kim Stanley Robinson, and 'Dancing With Bears' by Swanwick. 'Seed' is a far better book than any of these and '2312' won the Nebula. Minor quibble: the mystery woman in DC could have used a little plumping, a reveal. Otherwise perfect. Cancel all appointments, prepare to be gripped.

A very satisfying postapocalyptic SF novel indeed. The setting was well crafted and the characters were enjoyable. The number of characters and the intertwining plots came together in a satisfying way, although the ending wasn't quite as head-smackingly good as it could have been. I would definitely say this is worth reading if you are the kind of person to enjoy science fiction, postapocalyptic stuff, global climate change scenarios, or speculative future-fiction.

I picked this up at the library because the cover fascinated me, and after reading the flap decided to give it a try. I liked this one much better than The Windup Girl(I'll admit that book may be a bit over my head) It's a fast paced story that stitches together three very different story arcs. Each arc reads slightly different from the others and absolutely captures the spirit of the characters it portrays. It is a bit ultra-violent at times to the point where it may turn off some readers, but the characters are believable and were fun to observe from the safety of my home with food in the fridge. An excellent first novel. I will be in line for his next. I have recommended this to friends and would recommend it to you.