Pattermaster by Olivia E. Butler

I first discovered Octavia Butler in 2022 when I read two of her remarkable stand -alone novels, a time travel novel, Kindred and her final novel, a so-called sci-fi vampire novel, Fledgling. I had written at the time that I had downloaded everything published by Butler and would read the collection "in the not too distant future". That was two years ago, and well things tend to get away from one. I've only just now finished Butler's first book, Patternmaster. Not only was this Butler's first novel, it was also the first in her Patternist series.

This first book depicts a distant future where the human race has been sharply divided into the dominant Patternists, their enemies the "diseased" and animalistic Clayarks, and the enslaved human mutes.

The Patternists, bred for intelligence and psychic abilities, are networked telepaths. They are ruled by the most powerful telepath, known as the Patternmaster. Although the first book to be published, Patternmaster is the last in the series' internal chronology. It is an amazing "debut novel" though, of course not flawless, by any means.

Never the less, I'm looking forward to completing the series.