Told in the haunting voice of Lilith, the heroine of "Dawn", this book is thestory of Lilith's only son, Akin. Though he resembles a normal human, Akin isthe first "construct"--part man/part alien.
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In this sequel to Dawn, Lilith Iyapo has given birth to what looks like a normal human boy named Akin. But Akin actually has five parents: a male and female human, a male and female Oankali, and a sexless Ooloi. The Oankali and Ooloi are part of an alien race that rescued humanity from a devastating nuclear war, but the price they exact is a high one--the aliens are compelled to genetically merge their species with other races, drastically altering both in the process. On a rehabilitated Earth, this "new" race is emerging through human/Oankali/Ooloi mating, but there are also "pure" humans who choose to resist the aliens and the salvation they offer. These resisters are sterilized by the Ooloi so that they cannot reproduce the genetic defect that drives humanity to destroy itself, but otherwise they are left alone (unless they become violent). When the resisters kidnap young Akin, the Oankali choose to leave the child with his captors, for he--the most "human" of the Oankali children--will decide whether the resisters should be given back their fertility and freedom, even though they will only destroy themselves again. This is the second volume in Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis series, a powerful tale of alien existence.
About the Author
Octavia E. Butler was the first black woman to come to international prominence as a science fiction writer. Incorporating powerful, spare language and rich, well-developed characters, her work tackled race, gender, religion, poverty, power, politics, and science in a way that touched readers of all backgrounds. Butler was a towering figure in life and in her art and the world noticed; highly acclaimed by reviewers, she received numerous awards, including a MacArthur "genius" grant, both the Hugo and Nebula awards, the Langston Hughes Medal, as well as a PEN Lifetime Achievement award.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This science fiction work follows up on Ms. Butler's earlier work, Dawn. The book stands alone fairly well, but the story will seem tremendously better placed into context if the reader has read the earlier book, Dawn. Ms. Butler creates yet another of her dystopian earths, but its final crisis is ameliorated by the intervention of an alien species, the oankali. The book tells a crackling good story, but also addresses a key theme--what does it mean to be human? I recommend this book, as it has the old-fashioned virtues of a golden age work, but is told in the fine, well-written style that characterizes Octavia Butler's work. Reading a Butler, one gets the impression that one is watching a grandmaster writing in her prime--and yet, the nice thing about reading her is the sense that the best is yet to come. If you have not read Butler, but you are afraid that sci fi has lost its zing, then read Dawn and this one.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This book is far better than the first in the series. I was completely sucked into the characters, concept, and plot. The device of the alien child - a hybrid that is different from humans in obvious but also extremely subtle ways - is a unique creation in sci fi. His journey is fascinating and cruel, which makes a dark philospical statement on human nature. The dialogue is as excellent as you would expect from any fine novelist.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Humans had finally destroyed themselves and the planet Earth. This book continues the story of the few human survivors who had been captured by a revolting looking but talented alien race and forced to breed with them in order to perpetuate the genes of the human species within a new hybrid race. Most of the book revolves around two ideas, the innate human tendency toward violence and the unwillingness of people to accept others who are different. Those in the book who resist the breeding situation and run away to create their own childless communities are portrayed as an endlessly cranky group, a microcosm of the race who destroyed their own Earth. Every time you read an episode about them they're committing violent acts. They have an especially difficult time in accepting members of the next generation, the hybrids who are only part human. The dilemma posed in the book is that the only way to save the species is to accept and trust the non-human as well as the human.
I found the main character, a hybrid child, really interesting, and the book as a whole intellectually stimulating and full of challenge and ideas.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good story, poor physical book
This is the second in a series, the first being Dawn. I really enjoyed the first book, the subject was fresh and kept me engrossed. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Lanny A. Netz
Literally unreadable
This book was not unreadable because of the quality of the author's writing or the story. The maner in which this edition was printed was unreadable. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Lisa Ormerod
Engaging Sequel
The second installation in the Xenogenesis series introduces Akin, Lilith's son and a human-born male construct (Oankali-Human mix). Read more
Published on September 13, 2008 by Open-Minded Reader
The Long Road to Maturity
Akin (Ah-keen) is a human-born construct...a mixture of both Human and Oankali genetic material. He, and others like him, are the first steps toward what the Oankali have... Read more
Published on June 10, 2008 by themarsman
Butler sequel, slavery / tri-gender themes
Happening upon a sentient species in the throes of self-destruction, the wise and beneficient Ounkali have imposed a genetic "trade" upon humanity "for their own good. Read more
Published on January 20, 2008 by gmemphis
Not Free SF Reader
Hybrid helper?
Part of the problem with these books I think is the what would seem to be extremely unlikely acceptance so quickly of what the aliens are up to. Read more
Part of the problem with these books I think is the what would seem to be extremely unlikely acceptance so quickly of what the aliens are up to. Read more
Published on October 24, 2007 by Blue Tyson
science fiction exploration of identity
Now I know why the three volume Xenogenesis series was collected in a single volume titled Lilith's Brood. Read more
Published on February 12, 2007 by Joe Sherry
The Passing of a Star
Octavia Butler recently died in Seattle. Her passing is a great loss to literature in general and science fiction in particular. Read more
Published on June 14, 2006 by Steven J. Bissell
Wonderful.
This book and the other two in this trilogy are my favorite books. I've read them repeatedly.
Published on January 29, 2003
Best of the Xenogenesis Series by a Very Narrow Margin
Better than Dawn (Xenogenesis), the first of the series, and slightly better than the finale, Imago (Book Three of the Xenogenesis Series). All 3 are OUTSTANDING. Read more
Published on May 23, 2002 by watzizname
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
He remembered much of his stay in the womb. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ooloi child, resister villages, sensory tentacles, sensory arms, body tentacles, head tentacles, construct children, guest area Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Gilbert Senn, Macy Wilton, Wray Ordway, Akjai Humans, Augustino Leal, Nikanj Ooan, Pilar Leal, Gabriel Rinaldi New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
He remembered much of his stay in the womb. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ooloi child, resister villages, sensory tentacles, sensory arms, body tentacles, head tentacles, construct children, guest area Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Gilbert Senn, Macy Wilton, Wray Ordway, Akjai Humans, Augustino Leal, Nikanj Ooan, Pilar Leal, Gabriel Rinaldi New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 5
books:
55
books
cite this book:
See all 55 books citing this book
- Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Toni Morrison by Donald Gibson in Front Matter
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler in Back Matter
- Bodies of Tomorrow: Technology, Subjectivity, Science Fiction by Sherryl Vint on 6 pages
- Reproducing the Womb: Images of Childbirth in Science, Feminist Theory, and Literature by Alice E. Adams on 4 pages
- Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Dawn (Xenogenesis, Bk. 1) by Octavia E. Butler in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- American Dream, American Nightmare: FICTION SINCE 1960 by Kathryn Hume on page 31, page 283, and Back Matter
See all 55 books citing this book
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