Adulthood Rites
(Libby/OverDrive eBook)

Here is the sequel to Dawn (Booklist 83:1722 Ag 87), in which the author began the tale of the Oankali and their efforts to create part-human synthetic offspring. Akin, son of Lilith (protagonist of Dawn), is kidnapped by the human foes of the Oankali. As the youth learns more of human beings and their motives, he begins to sympathize with their plight. At the same time, he also knows that he is still a hybrid and will need the Oankali's help in order to survive the adulthood rites of his captors. Not as impressive as Dawn, this remains a well-told tale and a solid building block in a promising sf saga. RG. [OCLC] 87-34620

The product of alien genetic intervention designed to save humanity by altering its genotypic structure, Akin faces a world of hostile humans who recognize him as the son of the woman who either betrayed or saved the human race. This sequel to Dawn portrays a young man's coming of age in a world forever changed. Recommended where the author has a following. JC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Second in the Xenogenesis series (Dawn, not reviewed), from the talented author of Clay's Ark (1984), in which the alien Oankali have descended upon an Earth devastated by nuclear war. The Oankali, who look frightful but have vast biological talents, have rebuilt both the Earth's biosphere and the surviving humans--giving the humans long, healthy lives while withholding their ability to reproduce without the Oankali's aid. Why? Well, the much-traveled aliens make their living by collecting and interpreting genes--so they know that any nascent human civilization will inevitably destroy itself. Some humans cooperate with the Oankali (they have a third, neuter, sex, ooloi, that mediates reproduction) and produce ""construct"" offspring, fusions of human and Oankali. The uncooperative wild humans, unable to bear children, often try to kidnap the construct children despite their nonhuman attributes (sensory tentacles, indeterminate sex, a final repellent-looking metamorphosis, and so forth). The wild humans, then, pose a thorny problem for the kindly Oankali--so when Lilith's young construct son Akin is kidnapped, the Oankali refuse to rescue him (Akin is, however, self-reliant and mature far beyond his human age) in the hope that he will, by coming to understand the wild humans from an Oankali viewpoint, find a solution. Butler's spare, vivid prose style invites comparison with the likes of Kate Wilhelm and Ursula Le Guin. Add on the intriguing, well-developed ideas here, the solid characters and crisp narrative: Butler in top form. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The product of alien genetic intervention designed to save humanity by altering its genotypic structure, Akin faces a world of hostile humans who recognize him as the son of the woman who either betrayed or saved the human race. This sequel to Dawn portrays a young man's coming of age in a world forever changed. Recommended where the author has a following. JC Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information.