Wild Seed is my favorite of the Patternist series, but this is a close 2nd. I thought the Pattern was a really interesting idea and liked the questions it raised about community, free will, and 'at what cost.' The conflict between Doro and Mary is great and had a surprising and satisfying resolution. Butler has a talent for making characters that I don't like but still find compelling. I don't think I cared for many of the characters in this book, but I got their motivations and was invested in what happened to them.