Adulthood Rites

, #2

by

277 pages

English language

Published Aug. 7, 1997 by Warner.

ISBN:
978-0-446-60378-2
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(5 reviews)

The second book in the Lilith's Brood trilogy, this story takes place years after the arrival of Oankali aliens in the first book. Now, the Oankali have established some colonies on Earth, where they live and breed with humans. Other villages are populated by human resisters, who refuse to interact or breed with the Oankali but are frustrated because they can no longer reproduce on their own and feel they have no future. Akin, a boy "construct" born with mixed human and Oankali DNA, confronts these tensions between the two species and grapples with his own identity.

7 editions

reviewed Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler (Xenogenesis, #2)

Not sure if fascinated, bored, or terrified

I have to give Butler that her world building and description of the alien race her books are about are truly gripping and remarkable. That said, this book had its lengths. We get to see the world through a fairly alien perspective since the story is told from the perspective of a human-alien hybrid. This is truly fascinating but I have to admit that I started skipping over some of the lengthy conversations sometimes used. Still, it is a fascinating story that I enjoyed reading.

reviewed Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler (Lilith's Brood, #2)

The personality of an alien

As the first book, world- and character building are amazing. Somehow, the first book seems like nothing more than a setup for this in hindsight. Finishing this, I can't wait for the next one, to see how the plan Akin spun unfolds. Admittedly I have been a hard time following the dialogues when more than 2 Oankali were involved, but I think I can follow and understand Akin pretty well thanks to how Butler described him.

I didn't notice I'm reading a book from the eighties until I looked up from when the book is. Beside some words that are rare today and some historical mentions, the series could have been written now.

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