Reviews

i genuinely thought i had dropped the trilogy after the second book but yesterday i got curious and binge read into 3am.

it’s a very weird extra terrestrial settler colonisation story after the survivors of a war that left earth inhabitable are lifted up by aliens (Oankali), who are “traders” of life — first book from the pov of a human (Lilith) coerced into mating with them, second and third from her children i.e. “human born constructs”.

one convinces the colonisers to restore human’s fertility (humans on earth are sterile unless they agree to take oakali mates) and let them go to mars human colony to live if they wish to.

the last book is when oankali accidentally make oolai (a neither male nor female creature that collects and manipulates cells in its own body and that acts as a medium between human mates and oankali ones) human born construct, who is sent on exile cause of how dangerous their lack of control can be. this is able to understand and manipulate humans to do what it needs, after keeping this oolai human “captive” for a couple months the last of resistors comply with oankali saying if jodahs existed 100 years ago there would have been no resistors 😭

whatevanreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This trilogy is filled with thought-provoking themes, but unfortunately is also filled with unnecessarily strange content that made me uncomfortable. Exploring how humanity would react to an alien civilization “saving” some of us for ulterior motives, Butler did a great job showcasing humanity’s innate entitlement, self-preservation, and perseverance while weaving in an intriguing story combining both human and alien main characters/POVs.

The positives unfortunately don’t outweigh the negatives for me. Butler includes certain creepy elements that added absolutely nothing to the overall story. It was interesting seeing her imagine an entirely new species, but a lot of the decisions she made regarding how they interact with the humans made me physically cringe more often than not.

As a result, I’m equally impressed, disturbed, and ambivalent. Parts of this are awe-inspiring, but too much is…well, not.

amandackim's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

book_dreamblog's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

swansandroses's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

treboni's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

book_nerd_1's review against another edition

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5.0

This series is amazing.
The first book has a human main character, then a male hybrid character, then a ooloi(new gender) main character. You understand and relate to the aliens more and more throughout the series though they always make you vaguely uncomfortable, which is just what the people in the book are feeling.
Honestly I wish the series had continued with the truly new species and the things we learned were going to happen in the future.

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