tmd1993's review against another edition
5.0
Octavia Butler has become one of my favorite authors. Her writing is so interesting and her stories capture humanity in a lovely way.
I loved the first book in this series and was excited to start the second. I read in reviews that a lot of people did not like that we were no longer seeing things from Lilleth’s perspective. I was glad to expect that before I started reading, but I didn’t mind the perspective shift as others seemed to. To me, it was fascinating to see things from a human perspective in book 1, and then go beyond that a bit in book 2 and really take a hard look at the “fatal flaw” that humanity seems to have.
This book left me asking some tough questions. Does humanity have the right to destroy itself, in the name of freedom? Really resonates with the whole mask and COVID situation happening now. I can’t wait to finish the series and highly recommend anything written by Butler!
I loved the first book in this series and was excited to start the second. I read in reviews that a lot of people did not like that we were no longer seeing things from Lilleth’s perspective. I was glad to expect that before I started reading, but I didn’t mind the perspective shift as others seemed to. To me, it was fascinating to see things from a human perspective in book 1, and then go beyond that a bit in book 2 and really take a hard look at the “fatal flaw” that humanity seems to have.
This book left me asking some tough questions. Does humanity have the right to destroy itself, in the name of freedom? Really resonates with the whole mask and COVID situation happening now. I can’t wait to finish the series and highly recommend anything written by Butler!
ms_gouldbourne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I still don't quite know what to make of this series! It's weird, more than a little creepy, playing around with some dangerous questions about consent and ethics... and yet I found that I couldn't put any of its three books down the whole time I was reading them. Octavia Butler has such a strong and compelling authorial voice, and I was equally fascinated and horrified by this imaginative - yet frequently disturbing - story.
Adulthood Rites picks up decades after Dawn leaves off, and it's told from the perspective of Akin, the youngest child (right now!) of Lilith from the first book. I definitely preferred Lilith's inner narrative, but it was interesting to hear from a child who had never known a world in which human beings were free. I enjoyed revisiting some of the human characters from Dawn, and I both loved and hated the fact that so often the Oankali's twisted logic made sense to me!
These books do feel very sex-obsessed, and the waters of consent are very murky indeed - but I would argue that that's a major theme of the story, and to lose it would be to lose much of the point! I suppose it would just be nice to feel like some of the characters could be capable of having friendships, as opposed to literally every relationship being either sexual or parental... and sometimes, disturbingly, containing elements of both.
I'm definitely glad I've read this series - it left a lot of questions revolving around my head! I did feel a bit like I needed a hot shower after I'd finished though.
Adulthood Rites picks up decades after Dawn leaves off, and it's told from the perspective of Akin, the youngest child (right now!) of Lilith from the first book. I definitely preferred Lilith's inner narrative, but it was interesting to hear from a child who had never known a world in which human beings were free. I enjoyed revisiting some of the human characters from Dawn, and I both loved and hated the fact that so often the Oankali's twisted logic made sense to me!
These books do feel very sex-obsessed, and the waters of consent are very murky indeed - but I would argue that that's a major theme of the story, and to lose it would be to lose much of the point! I suppose it would just be nice to feel like some of the characters could be capable of having friendships, as opposed to literally every relationship being either sexual or parental... and sometimes, disturbingly, containing elements of both.
I'm definitely glad I've read this series - it left a lot of questions revolving around my head! I did feel a bit like I needed a hot shower after I'd finished though.
ellenreading_theend's review against another edition
4.5
I finally got around the the second book in this series like two years after reading the first — I really love Butler’s writing, but there’s something incredibly off-putting in these stories (on purpose, I think) that makes me hesitant to pick them back up. I think it’s the deep examination of humanity of the question of what makes us humans that speaks to the depth of her talent, but the connection with these characters that are so far removed from what I know is also impressive.
candypop's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bbpettry's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
4.0
Butler is an expert at what smart people call 'thinkin' about shit...at length' - this trilogy exemplifies that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Body horror
Moderate: Rape
charlibirb's review against another edition
4.0
Different main character than in the first book. Explores being half alien. A nice, fast read.
n_narine's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
5.0
willowbiblio's review
5.0
"Human beings fear difference," Lilith had told him once. "Oankali crave difference. Humans persecute their different ones, yet they need them to give themselves definition and status. Oankali seek difference and collect it. They need it to keep themselves from stagnation and overspecialization."
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This was a true masterpiece from start to finish. I greatly appreciated the timeskip and Butler’s choice to remove Lilith as the focus of the story, instead putting her son Akin in the foreground. Once again Butler managed to capture the casual brutality of humanity and our wanton condescension for life we perceive to be less than our own. The constant interplay of loss and rage, but a refusal to accept anything other than what came before, left a constant thrum of tension in every resistor-Oankali interaction. Fear and denial are used as justifications for every horrifying act.
Butler reinforces her argument begun in book 1- that humanity is intent upon destroying itself and refusing to learn from past mistakes. She adds on to this with a secondary observation of stubbornness, suspicion, and a capacity for violence that humanity is oh so perfect at. I really enjoyed the deeper exploration of the balanced and deeply connected relationships amongst the Oankali. In some ways they provide a true foil to humanity because of their inability to cause pain without it being recreated within themselves. It forces the reader to ask the question- if humans were capable of this fundamental empathy would we insist on the mistreatment and brutalization of everything and everyone around us? Very much looking forward to book 3!
--------
This was a true masterpiece from start to finish. I greatly appreciated the timeskip and Butler’s choice to remove Lilith as the focus of the story, instead putting her son Akin in the foreground. Once again Butler managed to capture the casual brutality of humanity and our wanton condescension for life we perceive to be less than our own. The constant interplay of loss and rage, but a refusal to accept anything other than what came before, left a constant thrum of tension in every resistor-Oankali interaction. Fear and denial are used as justifications for every horrifying act.
Butler reinforces her argument begun in book 1- that humanity is intent upon destroying itself and refusing to learn from past mistakes. She adds on to this with a secondary observation of stubbornness, suspicion, and a capacity for violence that humanity is oh so perfect at. I really enjoyed the deeper exploration of the balanced and deeply connected relationships amongst the Oankali. In some ways they provide a true foil to humanity because of their inability to cause pain without it being recreated within themselves. It forces the reader to ask the question- if humans were capable of this fundamental empathy would we insist on the mistreatment and brutalization of everything and everyone around us? Very much looking forward to book 3!