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mersatz 's review for:
Adulthood Rites
by Octavia E. Butler
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.