Seed Seeker by Pamela Sargent – review

The much-anticipated conclusion to The Seed Trilogy, Seed Seeker, is here, and acclaimed SF writer Pamela Sargent’s adventure of colonization and conflict has been a very exciting and enjoyable ride. The sentient starship, simply named Ship (say that three times fast!) that settled humans on the planet Home before leaving to colonize other worlds has at long last returned, fulfilling its promise. The colony on Home has divided into those who live in the original domed buildings of the colony, who maintain the library and technology of Ship, and those who live by the river, farming and hunting to survive. The Dome Dwellers consider themselves the protectors of “true humanity” and the River People “contaminated,” and the two sides interact solely through ritualized trade:  food and goods from the River People in exchange for repairs and recharges by the Dome Dwellers. Who are the “true” seeds of humanity, who best represent what humans were like on Earth? Who will Ship favor and consider to be the most worthy of the colonists?

When a new light appears in the night sky, the River People believe it might be Ship, keeping its promise to return, but the Dome Dwellers, who have a radio to communicate with Ship, are silent. So Bian, a seventeen-year-old girl from a small village, travels upriver to learn what they know. As she travels through the colony of Home, gaining companions and gathering news, Bian ponders why the Dome Dwellers have said nothing. Has Ship commanded them to be silent, in preparation for some judgment on the River People? Or are the Dome Dwellers lying to Ship, turning Ship against their rivals?

Pamela Sargent shows with this series that she is very skillful at world-building. The title of the world she’s invented for her colonists is perhaps not very exotic-sounding, but I suppose since it’s supposed to be thought of as a second home to the remnants of humanity, Home is not a bad name for the planet. The colonists have not established colonies all across Home, but the author describes the parts that have been colonized very colorfully. The life the River People live seems to be much like that of Americans along the Mississippi River during the mid to late 1800′s, minus slavery. Also, cotton is not king, but rather the fruit and nuts some colonists grow from seeds that Ship brought along with humans from Earth.  They are a valuable commodity to trade, as are home-made products from reeds, like baskets and mats.

The original colonists have developed over the years an Us vs. Them mentality. It’s been decades since Ship left, and the older living members of the original colonists who are now called the River People have stopped including the mention of Ship‘s promise to return one day in the oral traditions and history of humanity they pass down to the younger generations. They are afraid to instill false hope in the hearts of their offspring, and they have no way of knowing if Ship will make good on its promise, until they see the orbiting light in the night skies. Still, the River People have can’t personally contact Ship, as they have no radio.

The Dome People’s technology is slowly failing them. They have kept their computers and other mechanical equipment maintained as best as they can, and have an extensive history of humanity stored in a Library and on hard drives, but more and more of their technologically-based devices are failing them. They, also, can’t contact Ship, but they believe that Ship will favor them, because they have not had their DNA “contaminated” by living outside of the Domes. They have to trade with the River People for various goods, and their clothing is falling apart from constant wear and tear. They scavenge for old clothing and other things from abandoned Dome colonies. The irony is that the Dome People, though being still technologically superior to the River People, are not as vibrant and vital as they are, so one question the novel raises is: “What is it that makes humans truly human?”

I was struck by the almost reverent feelings the colonists have for the ship that brought them to Home. They regard Ship as practically a god, and I can imagine that, given enough time, a type of mythology or religion could be built up by the descendants of the colonists in which Ship might be worshiped as a deity. I also thought at different points as I was reading about the Planet of the Apes movies, and the comparison between the humans who had lost the use of language and lived like savages in the wild to the mutated humans who kept their language and intellects and worshiped nuclear bombs. The only part of the comparison that is apt is that in both The Seed Trilogy and the Planet of the Apes flicks there are two different groups of humans, and one of the groups in each case is technologically more advanced than the other one. It’s not the greatest comparison to make, but it was one that came to my mind, nevertheless.

The Seed Trilogy began all the way back in 1983, with the now-classic Earthseed. It was named an American Library Association Best book for Young Adults. Its sequel, Farseed, was written twenty years later, and received excellent reviews. Now, with Seed Seeker, the conclusion of the trilogy, Pamela Sargent has written a novel that is sure to appeal to fans of the first two books in the series. It can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone book, though I’d recommend that you read the first two novels, if you haven’t already, because they are both very good and will provide you with useful background information to help you understand and get into Seed Seeker better. If you’re a fan of gritty science fiction like Battlestar Galactica and Firefly, you won’t want to miss checking out Seed Seeker.