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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow! This was unlike so many books I've read. Quite an interesting read and much to think about what it means to be human. I couldn't relate much to Lilith outside of being her age but somehow this made her much more compelling and real and relatable to me. Her (mental) journey in this book was fascinating. I'd like to think I would be fine with the Oankali, but I know deep down that I would be just as terrified and disgusted as all the other humans. Surely it's not our innate dislike of creatures like this that makes us human, right? Yet somehow it's certainly part of it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've been meaning to pick this up for ages and when I did I was pleasantly surprised. I did find a lot of it very confronting, especially the stuff about isolation and changing the nature of humanity - it was a really, really good book when looked at from the lens of colonisation and/or the slave trade. A lot of it was disturbing to me - the attempted rape, a lot of the sexual stuff with the aliens (not my cup of tea, no judgement), and the violence of the group . IDK. Thought-provoking. Compelling. I'm glad I read it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
This book brings up lots of complicated feelings. For that I know that it should be rated highly, but I'm really not sure how highly, to be honest. I want to say that I loved it, but it is hard to say love to something both so perfect and so hard to deal with. I really appreciate the main character being an anthropologist, and the unique alien quality to the aliens. I'm already reading the next book, so more to come?
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This is completely out of my element, so I guess take my words with a grain of salt. This is the first sci-fi that I've read as an adult. Can't say I love it, but I will be finishing the series because I love completing things. That being said, I had trouble picturing the setting as well as the characters. I also thought the human relationships were particularly rushed and surface-level. To me, it didn't feel very natural the way they all paired up into couples almost immediately. I think it would make more sense for the people to find companionship through platonic relationships as well as romantic ones. But they all immediately paired up into breeding partners? Idk maybe I missed something about them being modified to only care for sexual relationships since that's really what they're there for. But even still, all their bonds seemed very shallow, not really delving into even just a physical and biological pull, much less a personal connection.
Honestly, I think that sci-fi isn't the genre for me, but this novel was still very interesting and unique. Octavia Butler is renowned for good reason, and in a publishing sphere that prioritizes whiteness, it's always welcome to see Black authors in sci-fi genre. but also yall scifi lovers are not beating the freaky sex with aliens allegations lmao
Honestly, I think that sci-fi isn't the genre for me, but this novel was still very interesting and unique. Octavia Butler is renowned for good reason, and in a publishing sphere that prioritizes whiteness, it's always welcome to see Black authors in sci-fi genre. but also yall scifi lovers are not beating the freaky sex with aliens allegations lmao
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes