Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Guild America Books (1989), 736 pages
Description
All of humanity must share the world with uncanny, unimaginable alien creatures after war destroys Earth, in an omnibus edition containing three class science fiction novels--Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago. The acclaimed trilogy that comprises Lilith's Brood is multiple Hugo and Nebula award-winner Octavia E. Butler at her best. Presented for the first time in one volume, with an introduction by Joan Slonczewski, Ph. D., Lilith's Brood is a profoundly evocative, sensual--and disturbing--epic of human transformation. Lilith Lyapo is in the Andes, mourning the death of her family, when war destroys Earth. Centuries later, she is resurrected, by miraculously powerful unearthly beings, the Oankali. Driven by an irresistible need to heal others, the Oankali are rescuing our dying planet by merging genetically with mankind. But Lilith and all humanity must now share the world with uncanny, unimaginably alien creatures: Their own children. This is their story.… (more)
Media reviews
Das Verhalten der Menschen untereinander ist trotz der Erfahrung des Atomkrieges nach wie vor von äußerster Aggressivität geprägt. Schuld daran sind die menschlichen Gene, wie die Fremden als perfekte biologische Gentechniker wissen. Die Menschen können einfach gar nicht anders als
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fremdenfeindlich sein und sich selbst vernichten. Hierin liegt die bedenklich Botschaft des Buches: Wir sind nicht viel mehr als Marionetten unserer Gene, die für unser gesamtes Sozialverhalten verantwortlich sind.
Nach Ende des ersten Bandes tritt Lilith, die bisherige Protagonistin, an den Rand des Geschehens, erlahmt die Handlung und hat sich die Problematik erschöpft. Man kann das Buch also getrost nach 300 Seiten zuklappen, oder, wenn man denn will, besser gleich die Einzelausgabe des ersten Teiles zur Hand nehmen.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member sturlington
Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis novels were first compiled into one volume in 1989, but that compilation is now out of print. As with Seed to Harvest, Grand Central Publishing has reissued the compilation in an attractive trade paperback to capture new readers. And I’m glad they did, because I
When I finished Lilith’s Brood, I actually wasn’t sure whether I liked it or not, but I thought about it a great deal, which I think is a sign of a book worth reading. The underlying theme disturbed me, partly because I didn’t find much hope in it, partly because I found myself agreeing with the series’ assessment: that humankind is fated by our own biology to destroy ourselves.
Lilith’s Brood includes three novels: Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago, which comprise the Xenogenesis series. The story starts 250 years after a devastating nuclear war. The few human survivors have been picked up by an alien spacecraft and kept in stasis while the aliens, the Oankali, study them. Lilith is one of the first to be awakened and to be integrated into an Oankali family. She is being trained to awaken others, to introduce them to their new reality and their alien hosts, and to reveal the Oankali’s plan: to produce Oankali-human offspring, a brand-new hybrid species.
The Oankali are genetic engineers and reproduce by genetic manipulation. They have no disease or old age, and they can communicate with one another at the cellular level. They survive by traveling through space and finding species with promising genetic traits to mate with, such as humans. However, this means that humans can no longer reproduce with one another; the Oankalis have disabled their fertility. Also, when the Oankali leave, they will consume the remainder of Earth’s resources for the journey.
Of course, there is rebellion. Many humans choose to live long, childless lives rather than join with the Oankali. Lilith does not, because having been integrated with an Oankali family, she has become physically dependent on them. The next two books follow the lives of two of her children, as the Oankali-human interbreeding progresses. I don’t think I would have been compelled to keep reading the second novel if it were a separate sequel; each book on its own seems somewhat incomplete.
Throughout all three novels, the humans — living in primitive conditions on Earth — are portrayed as without hope, a species that, if allowed to reproduce, would attempt to destroy itself again within a few generations. Humans are hierarchical and competitive, unlike Oankali. As individuals, they can be intelligent and compassionate. But as a group, they are violent, destructive and territorial. Even when the aliens allow some humans to start a new colony on Mars and have children, the Oankali hold out no hope for their future.
That’s what makes this series so disturbing. The only hope posited is essentially that a greater power from the outside will find us, cure all our diseases and create with us a better people than we can ever hope to be. We are unable to cure ourselves, doomed by our own biology to always be fighting and murdering one another. I look at the news every day and feel that this is true. But I don’t want it to be true. I want humans to be capable of evolving past whatever impulse causes us to want to destroy one another. I want us to save ourselves, not look to some alien or god to save us.
But if I’m looking for that kind of resolution, I won’t find it in Lilith’s Brood. Still, I’m glad I read it. Even if I don’t ultimately agree with Butler’s conclusions, her writing made me think about and question some of my own assumptions.
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probably wouldn’t have read these books otherwise.When I finished Lilith’s Brood, I actually wasn’t sure whether I liked it or not, but I thought about it a great deal, which I think is a sign of a book worth reading. The underlying theme disturbed me, partly because I didn’t find much hope in it, partly because I found myself agreeing with the series’ assessment: that humankind is fated by our own biology to destroy ourselves.
Lilith’s Brood includes three novels: Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago, which comprise the Xenogenesis series. The story starts 250 years after a devastating nuclear war. The few human survivors have been picked up by an alien spacecraft and kept in stasis while the aliens, the Oankali, study them. Lilith is one of the first to be awakened and to be integrated into an Oankali family. She is being trained to awaken others, to introduce them to their new reality and their alien hosts, and to reveal the Oankali’s plan: to produce Oankali-human offspring, a brand-new hybrid species.
The Oankali are genetic engineers and reproduce by genetic manipulation. They have no disease or old age, and they can communicate with one another at the cellular level. They survive by traveling through space and finding species with promising genetic traits to mate with, such as humans. However, this means that humans can no longer reproduce with one another; the Oankalis have disabled their fertility. Also, when the Oankali leave, they will consume the remainder of Earth’s resources for the journey.
Of course, there is rebellion. Many humans choose to live long, childless lives rather than join with the Oankali. Lilith does not, because having been integrated with an Oankali family, she has become physically dependent on them. The next two books follow the lives of two of her children, as the Oankali-human interbreeding progresses. I don’t think I would have been compelled to keep reading the second novel if it were a separate sequel; each book on its own seems somewhat incomplete.
Throughout all three novels, the humans — living in primitive conditions on Earth — are portrayed as without hope, a species that, if allowed to reproduce, would attempt to destroy itself again within a few generations. Humans are hierarchical and competitive, unlike Oankali. As individuals, they can be intelligent and compassionate. But as a group, they are violent, destructive and territorial. Even when the aliens allow some humans to start a new colony on Mars and have children, the Oankali hold out no hope for their future.
That’s what makes this series so disturbing. The only hope posited is essentially that a greater power from the outside will find us, cure all our diseases and create with us a better people than we can ever hope to be. We are unable to cure ourselves, doomed by our own biology to always be fighting and murdering one another. I look at the news every day and feel that this is true. But I don’t want it to be true. I want humans to be capable of evolving past whatever impulse causes us to want to destroy one another. I want us to save ourselves, not look to some alien or god to save us.
But if I’m looking for that kind of resolution, I won’t find it in Lilith’s Brood. Still, I’m glad I read it. Even if I don’t ultimately agree with Butler’s conclusions, her writing made me think about and question some of my own assumptions.
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LibraryThing member ChrisRiesbeck
Solid examination in three novels of an alien takeover of humanity's future. It could be read simultaneously as a tale of horror and transcendence. 'Dawn' begins with the classic SF trope of awakening naked and alone in a strange environment, soon revealed to be an alien spaceship. Alien abduction,
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yes, but also alien rescue, from a vaguely described Doomsday catastrophe that humans had unleashed on themselves. Dawn is primarily about Lilith coming to terms with the Oankali, her alien captors, their goals for her in creating a future genetic blending of humans and aliens, and her relationships with other humans. As with Survivor, a book Butler disowned but which I quite liked, sex is elemental bonding force, but Lilith is doomed to be largely an outsider. 'Adulthood Rites' and 'Imago' continue the outsider themes with two of her offspring of this new Oankali-human blend. Both books are fine but suffer a bit from the similarity of main character. Each is a prototype of the next step in Oankali-human evolution, each is thereby isolated from both sides, each tres to preserve some element of original humankind, but each also subjugates humans to their will as need be. If you wanted to read these as biographies of monsters, you could. The power of Butler's writing is that she allows no simple interpretations of who is right or wrong here. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member melsmarsh
I think if I could just bring one book on a desert isle, I would consider the Octavia Butler omnibus, Xenogenesis. It's also been released under different names such as Lilith's Brood as well as the three individual books - Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago. It's a large set (nearly 900 pages in the
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edition I have) which tells the story of a woman (Lilith) who was saved by aliens (Oankali) after a nuclear war. The Oankali are a three sexed species which require new influx of genes to survive and evolve and they get this by interbreeding with whatever new species they happen to come across. The Oankali want to colonize the Earth with human-Oankali hybrids. Needless to say some humans are not thrilled by this idea and this conflict set the stage for the story and for the return to post-nuclear Earth. Xenogenesis takes you through the struggle for identity, race, religion, and what makes us human. It also may challenge your views on gender, sex, orientation, and what makes a family. Show Less
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
Dawn is the first in Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy, in which humans destroy the Earth through nuclear war and are then descended upon by aliens (the Oankali) who "rescue" them by attempting to merge their two species, hoping to create offspring with the best traits of both humans and Oankali. The
Dawn follows Lilith as she learns about the Oankali and their plans and tries to find and understand a new life under these strange circumstances. Butler's prose is somehow both spare and rich, and her ability to draw an alien species which is truly alien is remarkable. Her insight into how humans of varying temperaments might react open being awoken and told they've been rescued by aliens who now want to mate with them creates a believable, moving story. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy soon. 21 Jan 2014
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story is told from the point of view of Lilith, one of the first humans to be Awakened from the suspended animation the Oankali used to heal the remaining humans after the war and to keep them young while Earth, too, had a chance to heal. The Oankali plan to use Lilith as a kind of mother-figure and teacher for a group of humans she will Awaken (at Oankali direction) and who will then be sent back to Earth along with members of the Oankali to repopulate the planet with the resulting hybrid species.Dawn follows Lilith as she learns about the Oankali and their plans and tries to find and understand a new life under these strange circumstances. Butler's prose is somehow both spare and rich, and her ability to draw an alien species which is truly alien is remarkable. Her insight into how humans of varying temperaments might react open being awoken and told they've been rescued by aliens who now want to mate with them creates a believable, moving story. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy soon. 21 Jan 2014
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LibraryThing member jlparent
3 novels in one- this is excellent science fiction and I highly recommend it. Humans have driven themselves to extinction and aliens rescue a few. These aliens survive by genetic 'trading' and start manipulating the cellular builds of the humans they have saved, merging the two. Within that broad
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story, there is so much to take in and get lost in, I don't know how to separate it out without giving away the best parts of the story. I'll just say: read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member jshillingford
Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy has been collected and released in this new omnibus edition as "Lilith's Brood" (names after the matriarch of the new race). The three books, "Dawn," "Adulthood Rites," and "Imago," are so intertwined they read like one book anyway, and the larger size is better for
Mankind brought itself to the edge of extinction with nuclear holocaust. It is at this moment that the Oankali, an alien race, decide to make contact to "help" us. When Lilith Iyapo is "awakened," she finds that she has been chosen to revive her fellow humans in small groups & train them to survive in the wilderness that earth has become. But the aliens cannot help humanity without altering it forever. Our salvation may also be our utter destruction as a species. What does it truly mean to be human?
Though this is science fiction, it reaches a much broader audience. My mother, who does not read scifi at all, enjoyed the trilogy (in fact, all of Butler's work) as much as I did. I cannot recommend this series, and this author, enough.
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more comfortable reading. Because, you'll be unable to put the book down once you start! Butler's writes compelling science fiction rooted in social values and examination of modern society. Her writing is complex, fully fleshed out and engrossing. I cared about the characters, was sometimes disturbed by the story, and completely sucked into her world. I have enjoyed many of her books, but these are still my favorite.Mankind brought itself to the edge of extinction with nuclear holocaust. It is at this moment that the Oankali, an alien race, decide to make contact to "help" us. When Lilith Iyapo is "awakened," she finds that she has been chosen to revive her fellow humans in small groups & train them to survive in the wilderness that earth has become. But the aliens cannot help humanity without altering it forever. Our salvation may also be our utter destruction as a species. What does it truly mean to be human?
Though this is science fiction, it reaches a much broader audience. My mother, who does not read scifi at all, enjoyed the trilogy (in fact, all of Butler's work) as much as I did. I cannot recommend this series, and this author, enough.
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LibraryThing member PhoebeReading
Lilith's Brood, actually an omnibus of three novels (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago) by Octavia Butler, is amazing. These three works are easily the best science fiction novels I've read in the past several years, and the first two are certain contenders for the best novels I've read in years,
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period.They tell the story of a woman named Lilith, who is resurrected on an alien ship nearly three hundred years after a nuclear apocalypse, as well as the stories of her half-human, half-alien children. Lilith herself is a strong, determined hero--she often makes choices that not only seem unsavory to the people that surround her but are sometimes savory to the reader as well. However, her motivations (self-preservation above all else) always remain clear.But the real centerpiece here are Butler's aliens, the Oankali, a three-gendered, space faring race engaged in an intergalactic gene trade. What they do with the aliens they encounter, including humans, constitutes nothing more than an alien invasion, but because they integrate the species they annihilate into their society--and their sexual practices--they become both terrifying and sympathetic.There's no easy way to say this: the Oankali drug and rape humans to intermingle their genetic material. After this contact is established, normal sexual activity becomes repellent. The sex here, though there's never any physical contact, is really terrifying. The Oankali ooloi, the third-gendered aliens who facilitate these liaisons, are the definition of smooth operators. Because the gene trade is so ingrained in their culture, they are unable to see the ethical problems with their actions. To them, they have saved humanity from annihilation--that pure homo sapiens will die out, and that the Earth will be left a wasteland when the children of man go off to continue the gene trade elsewhere, is largely irrelevant.Wonderfully, the reader's perception of this exchange changes over the course of the three novels. In the first novel, told largely from Lilith's perspective, the Oankali seem to be little more than diabolical, yet disturbingly seductive, creatures. The reader deeply sympathizes with Lilith and the other humans who must make sense of a new life from the vantage of a cloistered space ship, with no possible escape in sight. The second novel, Adulthood Rites, tells the story of Lilith's first Oankali son, who struggles to reconcile both the Oankali and human sides of himself. Despite his place in the alien society, his characterization and motivations seem more firmly human, even as he undergoes a metamorphosis to become a strange, tentacled creature.The third novel, Imago represents the largest perspective shift. Unlike the other novels, it's told in the first person and weaves the story of Jodahs, Lilith's first ooloi child. Jodahs is almost completely alien to us in motivation--although he's different from the ooloi who came before, his primary interests lie in seducing humans. The strength of Butler's character building here is most strongly evident: Jodahs still manages to be sympathetic, somehow.Unfortunately, the pacing of the third book is not quite up to snuff when compared to the first two. In the first novel, particularly, Butler seemed unafraid to let wide gaps of time pass undescribed to the reader. This created great tension and contributed to the horrific, nightmarish feeling of the story. The second novel, similarly, included large chronological gaps as well as drastic setting shifts that contributed well to the half-human, half-alien nature of its protagonist. But the third novel was a bit more pedestrian in its construction, and (particularly as I wasn't able to put Lilith's Brood down for about 10 days until I had finished all 800-some odd pages of it), felt a little rehashed by the conclusion. But despite this, it was still a cut above most sci-fi novels in terms of prose, characterization, and species building.And it's for the species-building that I most admired this series. Butler amazingly creates a believable alien race that is, nevertheless, completely alien to us in society and motivations. The concepts introduced here are challenging, but no less wonderful for the moral quandaries they present. Highly, highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member LeeHallison
Excellent science fiction, this isa compilation of three books about an alien society with truly alien physiology and customs. Octavia Butler outdid herself - this is one of my favorite works.
Her writing is excellent and her imagination will amaze you.
Her writing is excellent and her imagination will amaze you.
LibraryThing member Fledgist
In a post-holocaust earth humans are dependent on the alien Oankali and their equally alien human-Oankali offspring. These novels tell the story of Lilith Iyapo and her descendants in a changed and changing world. The Oankali are arrogant, and so, to a degree, are the post-humans (construct humans)
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who blend human and Oankali genes. This is a tale of exploration, discovery, and, in the end, humanity. Show Less
LibraryThing member tronella
I don't think I can really summarise the plot of this very well, but... it's a book about aliens and humans. The aliens save the humans who survived after most of them died in a huge world war involving giant bombs, but the price of saving them is ... horrible. "The Oankali are biological traders,
That is really incoherent. Basically: awesome, creepy scifi, which I enjoyed even more because of its disturbing parts.
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driven to share genes with other intelligent species, changing both parties." (wikipedia) Well, the survivors end up with the choice: join with the aliens and have tentacular babies, or be sterilised and live on Earth until you die. The aliens creepily love humans because cancer teaches them to be able to regrow limbs. This is great scifi, with the details all thought out, and emotionally manipulative in the best way. The book is mainly about the humans who do choose to stay with the Oankali, and as you read you start to think that things are actually pretty good for them, but every time I started to accept the aliens as non-creepy it would reveal some horrible coercive element of the relationships between an alien and its human mates and I'd be horrified all over again.That is really incoherent. Basically: awesome, creepy scifi, which I enjoyed even more because of its disturbing parts.
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LibraryThing member okjlsaz
This was an excellent trilogy. I highly recommend it for sci-fi, post-end-of-the-world fans.
LibraryThing member ScoLgo
This trilogy, (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago - collectively known as Lilith's Brood), is a remarkable piece of work. Labeled as science fiction, it really transcends the genre. Set against a future tapestry where humanity has all but destroyed the Earth and itself, these stories are, at their
Unlike most stories about alien invasion, this is not a hostile takeover tale. The fact that the assimilation is performed in the spirit of 'trade', and with empathy and love, makes it ultimately that much more horrifying.
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core, an exploration of the human condition. Subtly shifting from a human perspective in the first book to an alien perspective in the third book, we find an examination of the unwilling integration of one species with another. An assimilation of those without power or choice by those who hold an overwhelming technological and physical advantage.Unlike most stories about alien invasion, this is not a hostile takeover tale. The fact that the assimilation is performed in the spirit of 'trade', and with empathy and love, makes it ultimately that much more horrifying.
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LibraryThing member ShawIslandLibrary
I've come to "science fiction"/ speculative fiction late in life, and so am still catching up on the "classics" such as the Lilith's Brood trilogy. I had previously read Butler's "Kindred," which is still my favorite, but the Lilith's Brood books are complex and written with her trademark visual
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richness, easily transporting you to these future worlds while retaining a grounding in the world (with its issues of race, gender, class, environmental degradation, militarism, violence) from which she speculates. I finished this book with a sense of hope (that we can overcome the tendency to hierarchical organization of our lives that is the central flaw the non-human Oankali are trying to help the surviving humans get past: "...the conflict in their genes--the new intelligence put at the service of ancient hierarchical tendencies."). It is the same sense of hope you get from reading Octavia Butler's "children"--the present day authors of Octavia's Brood. (Brian) Show Less
LibraryThing member abbeyhar
Damn, this was good, and unlike anything I've ever read. Dealt with almost every social issue possible, and also with the questions of what it means to be human as well as questions of free will. Also just a really well written SFI-fi story. Have read "Kindred" and can't wait to read more.
LibraryThing member Literature_Owl
This series is amazing. I am glad that I stumbled upon this series for my Modern and Contemporary Literature course. The series was first published as a three volumes of Xenogenisis: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago. This set is out of print and was reprinted in 2000 as Lilith's Brood. Well worth
The series takes place in a World War III with nuclear weapons making the Earth uninhabitable, but at the time of our extinction, an alien race finds out planet and has hopes to save us from our destructive ways. The story primarily focuses Lilith, a human, through her journey of life changes with the Oankali. They have no plan on harming the humans, but do wish to separate out anyone who will continue their destructive ways. Most are stored in a "hibernation" until they can learn everything about humanity and the planet.
Lilith becomes the teacher of the humans, providing them knowledge on how to provide and live off the land. They are returning to primitive ways with no weapons in hope that they can learn lessons from their mistakes. The twist in the plot is when the Oankali inform the humans that they will breed with them to help genetically obtain peace within their population.
Both species need each other to survive. The Oankali find new planets and split their population into thirds allowing an unchanging group, one to breed with humans and continue searching the universe, and the last group to stay on Earth and continue their aid there. The humans do not openly accept this idea, especially since it means that they cannot conceive in the "natural" way that they see fit. Over the course of the series, this is a pivotal point in the alliance and peace between species.
There is love, loss, and new adventures, but also a hidden understanding that as humans we have a natural instinct of hierarchy that only continues our destructive impact on our history. It is full of twist and turns, engaging the reader into the book feeling like they are part of the story as well. I would give this overall set a 4 star rating since I did find that I enjoyed the first two books (5 Stars) more than the final (3 Stars).
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anyone's times and I would highly recommend. It truly grasps the parallels of what the World Wars created in the ideas about modernism and the decline of humanity.The series takes place in a World War III with nuclear weapons making the Earth uninhabitable, but at the time of our extinction, an alien race finds out planet and has hopes to save us from our destructive ways. The story primarily focuses Lilith, a human, through her journey of life changes with the Oankali. They have no plan on harming the humans, but do wish to separate out anyone who will continue their destructive ways. Most are stored in a "hibernation" until they can learn everything about humanity and the planet.
Lilith becomes the teacher of the humans, providing them knowledge on how to provide and live off the land. They are returning to primitive ways with no weapons in hope that they can learn lessons from their mistakes. The twist in the plot is when the Oankali inform the humans that they will breed with them to help genetically obtain peace within their population.
Both species need each other to survive. The Oankali find new planets and split their population into thirds allowing an unchanging group, one to breed with humans and continue searching the universe, and the last group to stay on Earth and continue their aid there. The humans do not openly accept this idea, especially since it means that they cannot conceive in the "natural" way that they see fit. Over the course of the series, this is a pivotal point in the alliance and peace between species.
There is love, loss, and new adventures, but also a hidden understanding that as humans we have a natural instinct of hierarchy that only continues our destructive impact on our history. It is full of twist and turns, engaging the reader into the book feeling like they are part of the story as well. I would give this overall set a 4 star rating since I did find that I enjoyed the first two books (5 Stars) more than the final (3 Stars).
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LibraryThing member bunwat
Recently I've been reading a lot of YA speculative fiction because that's where much of the energy seems to be in the genre right now. There's some good stuff out there too. Then I recently reread Ursula LeGuin's The Dispossessed and shortly after that picked up Lilith's Brood as part of my reading
This is what science fiction for grownups looks like. Intellectually and emotionally challenging explorations of the really big questions. What does it mean to be human? Is being human even something worth holding onto?
I also just love Butler's prose. Its like a clear pane of glass between me and her ideas. Its never up in my face saying oh look at how clever I am with my pretty similes and metaphors. Instead it lets me pretend I am just hearing and seeing the story in my own mind's eye courtesy of an almost invisible narrator. I've tried to write a thing or two, I know just how difficult it is to get out of your reader's way, and she makes it seem effortless. Beautiful work.
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more Octavia Butler in 2010 intention. Oh revelation. Like sitting down with a really great bottle of wine after a couple of years of drinking fruit juice. This is what science fiction for grownups looks like. Intellectually and emotionally challenging explorations of the really big questions. What does it mean to be human? Is being human even something worth holding onto?
I also just love Butler's prose. Its like a clear pane of glass between me and her ideas. Its never up in my face saying oh look at how clever I am with my pretty similes and metaphors. Instead it lets me pretend I am just hearing and seeing the story in my own mind's eye courtesy of an almost invisible narrator. I've tried to write a thing or two, I know just how difficult it is to get out of your reader's way, and she makes it seem effortless. Beautiful work.
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LibraryThing member csmith0406
Good story and lots of meaty material for thought. Themes of freedom (and lack of) run throughout, colonialism and personal responsibility. Really good, highly recommended.
LibraryThing member kristina_brooke
An amazing read. I don't know how I've lived this long without reading Octavia Butler
LibraryThing member Excalibur
This book passes a disturbing judgement on humanity and reminds us what it truly means (and what it might take) to evolve.
Throughout this novel, we are forced to examine what parts of ourselves are inextricably human and whether or not our humanity is worth sacrificing for the betterment of all.
Throughout this novel, we are forced to examine what parts of ourselves are inextricably human and whether or not our humanity is worth sacrificing for the betterment of all.
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Butler asks us to wonder whether human nature itself is evil, and if so, are we willing to give up our humanity to transcend those parts of ourselves that are intrinsically corrupt. Show Less
LibraryThing member KarenHerndon
Very different kind of SciFi read- not the kind I typically like.
That said, I mostly liked the book.
Basically, story takes place when earth has destroyed itself thru war and a group of aliens save many of the survivors, put them in a suspended statis with the intension of eventually reviving them
It was very well written but I think, for me, too much time was spent on the interbreeding part.
That said, I mostly liked the book.
Basically, story takes place when earth has destroyed itself thru war and a group of aliens save many of the survivors, put them in a suspended statis with the intension of eventually reviving them
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to interbred with them.It was very well written but I think, for me, too much time was spent on the interbreeding part.
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LibraryThing member benuathanasia
Enjoyable with a diverse - yet spare - cast of characters orbiting the main character. The sex and sex-talk teeters annoyingly close to the limits of enjoy-ability for me (especially since it delivers no guilty titillation).
LibraryThing member derekstaff01
Butler does a fascinating job of exploring what it is to be human and the value of what humanity is, with all its brilliance and flaws, by proposing a scenario in which humanity is doomed to extinction unless it merges with another species. By accepting, are they becoming less, or becoming more?
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Butler does a masterful job of presenting all sides of the issue. The story and characterizations are rich and rewarding. Extremely thought provoking. Show Less
LibraryThing member dreamweaversunited
I really wanted to like this. I'm a huge feminist and I've heard Butler writes some of the best feminist science fiction. I also liked the biological aspects of their technology, from the purely sci-fi angle. Except then there was tentacle mind rape, and I had to hide the book far, far away where I
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would never have to see it and have those terrible images seared into my brain all over again. Show Less
LibraryThing member stunik
The earth was destroyed long ago (by humans). Aliens rescued a few and now, generations later, wake them from cryo and plan to help them repopulate the earth. There are a few little catches, like the aliens always planned to cross-breed with the humans to repopulate.
LibraryThing member anyanwubutler
This is a 3- in-1 “book” repackaged by SFBC. The first novel is Dawn, is about Lilith. She is the first person that the Oankali “awaken” and prepare for humans and Oankalis eventual return to Earth after World War III destroyed it. It’s taken 250 years to make Earth habitable. The Oankali
Well, well worth reading. Inteiligent and well thought out.
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are “traders;” they combine their abilities with other races to make their combined children something very different from either. Lilith is viewed as a traitor and Judas goat by the humans she awakens, and by herself. The next novel Adulthood Rites is about one of Lilith’s sons, Akin, the first male Oankali-human hybrid. He is stolen as a baby by resistors, humans on earth who don’t want anything to do with Oankali, including having their children. Since they won’t have Oankali-human children they are not allowed to have children at all. Akin stays in the resistor village until he is three, which make it so he is a contradiction: able to understand both points of view. As a young adult he convinces the Oankali to give the Earth resistors a second chance on Mars. The third novel, Imago’s protagonist is Akin’s sibling and Lilith’s child as well. Jodahs is the first human- Oankali construct who is oolai, neuter, and required for producing offspring. It finds an Earth village of fertile humans and takes two of them as its mates. In doing this it goes on with Lilith’s work of making humans both endangered and evolving.Well, well worth reading. Inteiligent and well thought out.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1989 (omnibus)
1987 (Dawn)
1988 (Adulthood Rites)
1989 (Imago)
Physical description
736 p.
ISBN
1568650337 / 9781568650333