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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Maybe 3.5, but it’s a good story and we’ll written. Butler’s ideas are interesting and captivating. This took the story to places I hadn’t anticipated. I’m not much of a sci fi reader or a space exploration and planet colonization enthusiast, but I still think this was a good book.
An amazing sequel to an equally amazing first novel. The transition from one to the other is seamless and I was instantly swept up again in this strange and disarming future world.
The aliens in the novel talk about the human contradiction - meaning that while humans as a species are inherently very intelligent, they are also hopelessly hierarchical, which inevitably always leads to (our) destruction. This is such a fascinating idea that I contemplated it a lot during reading (and couldn't really fault it tbh). I have to say that this series does an extremely fine job of depicting real, actual humans (no hero and antihero bs) that felt very real to me.
The author writes very well and with such compassion and insight that it really feels as if she's lived among the Oankali herself.
4.5/5 and I'll be moving on to the third installment.
The aliens in the novel talk about the human contradiction - meaning that while humans as a species are inherently very intelligent, they are also hopelessly hierarchical, which inevitably always leads to (our) destruction. This is such a fascinating idea that I contemplated it a lot during reading (and couldn't really fault it tbh). I have to say that this series does an extremely fine job of depicting real, actual humans (no hero and antihero bs) that felt very real to me.
The author writes very well and with such compassion and insight that it really feels as if she's lived among the Oankali herself.
4.5/5 and I'll be moving on to the third installment.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I thought Adulthood Rites was much better than Dawn, and I think it must be because of the main character. Somehow Akin, a construct, read more human (i.e. seemed more relatable) than Lilith, a full human.
Perhaps the tone of the book was also what made it better? Lilith is such a pessimist, and the whole of Dawn amounts to giving in to your captors and essentially losing. Contrarily, Akin is fresh-faced and hopeful (despite everything that happens to him) and Adulthood Rites ends hopefully, with humanity’s salvation in sight.
Perhaps the tone of the book was also what made it better? Lilith is such a pessimist, and the whole of Dawn amounts to giving in to your captors and essentially losing. Contrarily, Akin is fresh-faced and hopeful (despite everything that happens to him) and Adulthood Rites ends hopefully, with humanity’s salvation in sight.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
I love her writing and this is yet another example of Octavia Butler asking big questions through fictional plots. This was not as good as Dawn and seems to end on a cliffhanger. I will be reading the third book, Imago
This is an absolute immense read: a smart Si-Fi that is light years ahead of its time. The story begins a few years after the last: humanity is now back on earth, some living in communities with Oankali, others refusing to work with them, and rebelling. But….humans can now only breed with the help of the Oankali, breeding a resentment in the rebel humans.
It is also why Lilith’s son, Akin, is kidnapped by rebel humans and sold to a community many miles from home. Akin, part human, part Oankali, ultimately straddles the two species and their desires.
It’s another amazing read, and reminds me a lot of Woman on the Edge of time by Marge Piercy- and also Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake trilogy- in terms of packing in a trove of ideas so expertly. Once again, it’s a testament to Octavia’s skill as a writer that this story about aliens and the apocalypse are so darn believable. I loved it and can’t wait to read the final of the trilogy
It is also why Lilith’s son, Akin, is kidnapped by rebel humans and sold to a community many miles from home. Akin, part human, part Oankali, ultimately straddles the two species and their desires.
It’s another amazing read, and reminds me a lot of Woman on the Edge of time by Marge Piercy- and also Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake trilogy- in terms of packing in a trove of ideas so expertly. Once again, it’s a testament to Octavia’s skill as a writer that this story about aliens and the apocalypse are so darn believable. I loved it and can’t wait to read the final of the trilogy
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Another amazing dip into the world Octavia Butler built, I will say I do wish it followed the characters from the first book more or filled us in more fully on what happened between the books. However you easily fell in love with the new characters and where you a dropped into the story again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated