Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are no good stopping places in the book. Watching Akin grow and go against the consensus is hard. Because I myself am not sure I agree with him. Do they deserve a chance? Do they deserve him fighting for them?
On to Imago, but as usual Ms. Butler's book gives you a lot to think about.
On to Imago, but as usual Ms. Butler's book gives you a lot to think about.
3.5 — I have a harder time getting into Akin’s story and I miss Lilith.
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
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
Loved the first book and loved this one. I love Akin carrying on the torch for holding the Oankani responsible for not understanding Humanity at a fundamental level even if they believe they do. I also love seeing this second book from the POV of someone related to Lilith, but still keeping her around. It's also great to see the POV of someone between the two societies, even if he belongs to one more than the other.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Adulthood Rites is another absorbing and unsettling instalment in the Xenogenesis trilogy. In this sequel, Octavia E. Butler goes into more depth about the alien's belief in humanity having a 'genetic Contradiction' which is the idea that humans are incredibly intelligent yet detrimentally hierarchical so will always end up destroying itself.
Having Akin- the first human-born male hybrid- as the protagonist voice in this book brought a fresh and interesting addition to the narrative. As the novel develops his inner conflict between human and Oankali ideals is intriguing to read and this is a main character the reader can root for, particularly in his determination to convince the aliens to let humans have a place of their own.
I wish that Adulthood Rites explored more of the sinister. At the end of Dawn, the reader really gets the disturbing sense that this alien species is a lot more hostile than their demeanor makes them seem. A darker underlying motive is hinted at a few times in this book but I found myself wanting more.
There was a point where Akin had decided he wanted to help the humans build up a new life away from the alien species on Earth and I wish there was more on page about how he came to that decision. We know he learned the resister perspective when he was held hostage in a resister town but a fair amount was time skipped and it felt lacking.
Overall, despite a couple of gripes, Adulthood Rites is a strong sequel and I'll definitely be picking up the final book in the trilogy.
Having Akin- the first human-born male hybrid- as the protagonist voice in this book brought a fresh and interesting addition to the narrative. As the novel develops his inner conflict between human and Oankali ideals is intriguing to read and this is a main character the reader can root for, particularly in his determination to convince the aliens to let humans have a place of their own.
I wish that Adulthood Rites explored more of the sinister. At the end of Dawn, the reader really gets the disturbing sense that this alien species is a lot more hostile than their demeanor makes them seem. A darker underlying motive is hinted at a few times in this book but I found myself wanting more.
There was a point where Akin had decided he wanted to help the humans build up a new life away from the alien species on Earth and I wish there was more on page about how he came to that decision. We know he learned the resister perspective when he was held hostage in a resister town but a fair amount was time skipped and it felt lacking.
Overall, despite a couple of gripes, Adulthood Rites is a strong sequel and I'll definitely be picking up the final book in the trilogy.
3.5 it didn't grab me as much as Dawn, but I really like Butler's take on the "chosen one who will save us" narrative.
The Oankali seem unprepared for the humans' reactions and behaviors, which is kind of unbelievable to me considering they're ancient beings who have been doing this process of invading and "trading" with other worlds for millenia. Are humans really that unique?
It's creepy AF that Nikanj is now the mate of someone it helped raise when he was child. I kept waiting for more to be made of that, but I guess not...
The amount of time spent talking about mating and having sex is also weird. Combined with the reveal that the Oankali don't have stories or music, I'm starting to think these slugs really just need to get a life. Like not everything needs to be a weird sexual moment with tentacles, sometimes you can just hang out.
It's hard to tell if Butler is for or against (or neither?) the Oankali. They're presented as non-violent, but I keep reading them as creepy sexual predators and enslavers. But whenever a human character says as much, they're considered crackpots or old-fashioned. It's fine that humanity is being wiped out by manipulative aliens, but don't try to act like that's not what's going on.
The Oankali seem unprepared for the humans' reactions and behaviors, which is kind of unbelievable to me considering they're ancient beings who have been doing this process of invading and "trading" with other worlds for millenia. Are humans really that unique?
It's creepy AF that Nikanj is now the mate of someone it helped raise when he was child. I kept waiting for more to be made of that, but I guess not...
The amount of time spent talking about mating and having sex is also weird. Combined with the reveal that the Oankali don't have stories or music, I'm starting to think these slugs really just need to get a life. Like not everything needs to be a weird sexual moment with tentacles, sometimes you can just hang out.
It's hard to tell if Butler is for or against (or neither?) the Oankali. They're presented as non-violent, but I keep reading them as creepy sexual predators and enslavers. But whenever a human character says as much, they're considered crackpots or old-fashioned. It's fine that humanity is being wiped out by manipulative aliens, but don't try to act like that's not what's going on.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a cool and unique species of aliens.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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:
Complicated