Adulthood Rites (Xenogenesis, #2)
Octavia E. Butler
The futures of both mankind and an alien species rest in the hands of one hybrid son in the award-winning science fiction author’s masterful sequel to Dawn. Nuclear war had nearly destroyed mankind when the Oankali came to the rescue, saving humanity—but at a price. The Oankali survive by mixing their DNA with that of other species, and now on Earth they have permitted no child to be born without an Oankali parent. The first true hybrid is a boy named Akin—son of Lilith Iyapo— and to the naked eye he looks human, for now. He is born with extraordinary sensory powers, understanding speech at birth, speaking in sentences at two months old, and soon developing the ability to see at the molecular level. More powerful than any human or Oankali, he will be the architect of both races’ intergalactic future. But before he can carry this new species into the stars, Akin must decide which unlucky souls will stay behind. At once a coming-of-age story, science fiction adventure, and philosophical exploration, Butler’s ambitious and breathtaking novel ultimately raises the question of what it means to be human.
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Such an interesting read!! And it went in a direction I didn’t necessarily expect. I assumed the series would continue to be told from Lilith’s perspective, but this book is told entirely from the perspective of her son, Akin. It was really cool to hear about the construct biology at the beginning, but things really picked up for me once Akin is abducted by the raiders. It was so interesting to read about all the resister villages and see how humanity was already beginning to repeat its mistakes, as the Oankali predicted. So much unnecessary violence! Parts were hard to read.
My brain definitely clung to the part about how the Oankali believed without a doubt that humans are doomed to this self destructive fate, that it’s engrained in their DNA. Unavoidable to the extent that it is considered almost cruel for Akin to suggest the Oankali not interfere and allow the humans to exist in disturbed on Mars, wrong like letting an animal suffer instead of putting it down.
I was listening to Killers of the Flower Moon at the same time as reading this and I saw so many parallels in the dynamic of white people and Native Americans as the Oankali and Humans. Is the Oankali claiming that the human tendency toward hierarchical structure is intrinsically wrong and should be eradicated different than whites people condemning the traditions of Native Americans as savage? In both cases, the group with more power intercedes as they see fit without the consent of the other group. The Oankali do seem to love and genuinely care for humans, but I think to a certain extent they must also see the case to be made that what they’re doing is wrong or else they would not allow Akin to start his work. I’m sleepy, but I’m trying to say is that I think this book can probably be read through the lens of white people colonizing others.
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