Adulthood Rites

by Octavia E. Butler

eBook, 337 pages

English language

Published March 28, 2023 by Grand Central Publishing.

ASIN:: B0BZHT44V8

(5 reviews)

In the future, nuclear war has destroyed nearly all humankind. An alien race intervenes, saving the small group of survivors from certain death. But their salvation comes at a cost.

The Oankali are able to read and mutate genetic code, and they use these skills for their own survival, interbreeding with new species to constantly adapt and evolve. They value the intelligence they see in humankind but also know that the species—rigidly bound to destructive social hierarchies—is destined for failure. They are determined that the only way forward is for the two races to produce a new hybrid species—and they will not tolerate rebellion.

In the future, nuclear war has destroyed nearly all humankind. An alien race intervenes, saving the small group of survivors from certain death. But their salvation comes at a cost.

Akin looks like an ordinary human child. But as the first true human-alien hybrid, he is born understanding language, then starts to form sentences at two months old. He can see at a molecular level and kill with a touch. More powerful than any human or Oankali, he will be the architect of both races' future. But before he can carry this new species into the stars, Akin must reconcile with his own heritage in a world already torn in two.

17 editions

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

Continúa la historia

3 stars

Como en otras secuelas de Octavia Butler, entre libro y libro de la misma saga suele haber un salto generacional, y los personajes de la secuela son de una u otra forma, sucesores de los de la anterior, y esta no es la excepción. A veces ese cambio generacional me desconcierta un poco, especialmente cuando al final del libro anterior quedan muchos cabos sueltos sin resolver. Un poco de eso me pasó con este libro, pero rápidamente pude identificarme con los nuevos personajes. Algunos personajes del libro anterior también aparecen pero en un rol secundario. Quizás me hubiera gustado que algunos personajes importantes de Lillith's Brood hubieran tenido un rol más prominente en este libro.

La historia en general cambia el contexto de la historia casi por completo, y si bien tiene una elaboración muy buena, creo que prefiero el ambiente generado en el primer libro.

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

The personality of an alien

5 stars

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.