Take a photo of a barcode or cover
chelseareads's Reviews (449)
Edit: This book needs to be read as part of the trilogy (Xenogenesis, aka Lilith's Brood). It successfully sets up and begins the multigenerational story of this trilogy, but read alone it feels incomplete. I added a star after reading book 2 of this series (Adulthood Rites).
The first in a series of short stories about this protagonist. I am interested to see where the series goes, but I don't think the book stands well on its own.
Like similar books (very many of which have been published over the last few years), it held my attention and was mostly a fun read. Many of the plot twists were both logical and surprising, though I tend to let myself be carried along by a book, not to try to outwit the author by guessing the next surprise. I did, however, find the final twist to be one too many, and the final antagonist's explanations to be a bit tedious.
Expect suspense and maybe a little surprise. Do not expect novelty.
Expect suspense and maybe a little surprise. Do not expect novelty.
.jpg)
I loved this series (Xenogenesis/Lilith's Brood). The first book (Dawn) was a wonderful introduction to the series, but it's ending was extremely unsatisfying. After reading the second book (Adulthood Rites), I appreciated Dawn a little more, but I still thought its ending left room for improvement. After reading Imago, I am satisfied with the series as a whole.
Some thoughts:
The sexual differences and eventual relationships between the Oankali and the humans were unusual and took some getting used to. BUT I loved that each book primarily described the experiences of a different gender (female, male, and ooloi). I felt that by the beginning of this third book, you are prepared to understand what it means to be ooloi, which would have been a lot to introduce in Dawn or even in Adulthood Rites.
I also loved that this trilogy is multigenerational in terms of the amount of time that passes and the progress that is made (and the fact that there are literally different generations involved), but that many of the "first-generation" characters from Dawn remain relevant and involved in the story throughout.
One continued frustration for me (intentional, I'm sure) was the relationship of the Oankali to the humans. Humanity would have died out without these Oankali, but now only survives to participate in a "gene trade" with them. Anyone who refuses would be sterilized. Deciding how and if she will cooperate with the Oankali is Lilith's essential struggle in Dawn, and it remains problematic for her throughout the series. We discover the Oankali will essentially be destroying Earth when they eventually leave. The sterilized humans will have died by then, and those who have become part of the Oankali will leave in their ship. At the end of Adulthood Rites, the humans finally have some semblance of a choice in what will happen to their own race. Akin convinces the Oankali to allow humans to create a colony on Mars. So the humans now have three choices: become Oankali, resist and die, or go to Mars. There is a feeling of emancipation there.
In Imago, though, this frustration continues through the forced bonding and influencing the two ooloi constructs impose on their human mates and on other humans in the mountain settlement. It feels a little too much like a trap, and in the case of the protagonist and his mates, it almost literally was. Pretty rapey, to be honest.
All that being said, the author does an excellent job of portraying the Oankali perspective. What the Oankali impose on humanity is what they know to be best for humanity (Oankali definition of "best," but still...). You never stop believing that the Oankali believe to be acting in humanity's best interest.
Final thought: I strongly disagree with what is said to be humanity's fatal flaw. Strongly.
Anyways. It was a lot. It was an excellent series. Read it and decide for yourself.
Some thoughts:
The sexual differences and eventual relationships between the Oankali and the humans were unusual and took some getting used to. BUT I loved that each book primarily described the experiences of a different gender (female, male, and ooloi). I felt that by the beginning of this third book, you are prepared to understand what it means to be ooloi, which would have been a lot to introduce in Dawn or even in Adulthood Rites.
I also loved that this trilogy is multigenerational in terms of the amount of time that passes and the progress that is made (and the fact that there are literally different generations involved), but that many of the "first-generation" characters from Dawn remain relevant and involved in the story throughout.
One continued frustration for me (intentional, I'm sure) was the relationship of the Oankali to the humans. Humanity would have died out without these Oankali, but now only survives to participate in a "gene trade" with them. Anyone who refuses would be sterilized. Deciding how and if she will cooperate with the Oankali is Lilith's essential struggle in Dawn, and it remains problematic for her throughout the series. We discover the Oankali will essentially be destroying Earth when they eventually leave. The sterilized humans will have died by then, and those who have become part of the Oankali will leave in their ship. At the end of Adulthood Rites, the humans finally have some semblance of a choice in what will happen to their own race. Akin convinces the Oankali to allow humans to create a colony on Mars. So the humans now have three choices: become Oankali, resist and die, or go to Mars. There is a feeling of emancipation there.
In Imago, though, this frustration continues through the forced bonding and influencing the two ooloi constructs impose on their human mates and on other humans in the mountain settlement. It feels a little too much like a trap, and in the case of the protagonist and his mates, it almost literally was. Pretty rapey, to be honest.
All that being said, the author does an excellent job of portraying the Oankali perspective. What the Oankali impose on humanity is what they know to be best for humanity (Oankali definition of "best," but still...). You never stop believing that the Oankali believe to be acting in humanity's best interest.
Final thought: I strongly disagree with what is said to be humanity's fatal flaw. Strongly.
Anyways. It was a lot. It was an excellent series. Read it and decide for yourself.
I really enjoyed this book! The flashback formula typically bothers me in books, but in this case, I think it's appropriate. I see that some complain about the ending, but I thought that it was also appropriate for the type of story being told.
An engaging story set in an interesting and well-organized world. The protagonist/narrator has a self-depricating sense of humor that endears him to the reader, and is likeable almost all of the time. If, as most people say, the series improves after a few books, I think it will be a lot of fun.
