Customer Reviews

Xenogenesis

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In a world devastated by nuclear war with humanity on the edge of extinction, aliens finally make contact. They rescue those humans they can, keeping most survivors in suspended animation while the aliens begin the slow process of rehabilitating the planet. When Lilith Iyapo is "awakened, " she finds that she has been chosen to revive her fellow humans in small groups by first preparing them to meet the utterly terrifying aliens, then training them to survive on the wilderness that the planet has become. But the aliens cannot help humanity without altering it forever. Bonded to the aliens in ways no human has ever known, Lilith tries to fight them even as her own species comes to fear and loathe her. A stunning story of invasion and alien contact by one of science fiction's finest writers. Ingram Known for her African-American feminist perspective, the author presents the first installment of a trilogy exploring the death of the earth as we know it and the advent of interbreeding between humans and extraterrestrials. ----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.

...and that's saying something. This was my introduction to Octavia Butler and what an introduction. This edition was the collection of three novella's previously released by Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago) and I believe this chronological collection is exactly how those books should be read--as one continuing novel. The collection tells the story of the salvation of mankind after it nearly destroys itself in a nuclear war. But that salvation comes at a price that may mean the extinction of the human race as we know it to make way for something new. I think Dawn, the first section, is the strongest of the three but that's like saying which of these three masterpieces is more beautiful? I pick this book up again and again over the years and never grow tired of it. It has been re-released under the title "Lilith's Brood" but the cover art for Xenogenesis is by far the more telling. This book is how science fiction should be done. In this Butler schools them all.

Fantastic book that keeps you wanting to read more. Syfy is my favorite & it is hard to come by great books that aren't too cheesy.

You can never go wrong with Octavia Butler. What more can I say? She is the best and I take every opportunity to read her classics.

I am amazed it has taken me so long to read all of her books. I enjoyed Lilith Brood immensely.

Not your typical alien story. The book creates an interesting concept for an alien race, but what sets this book apart is that it puts a lot of focus on humanities reaction to the alien beings. I'm sure I'll still remember these books for years to come.