I recently finished reading Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy, and just had to share. Published under the collection title Lilith’s Brood since 2000, it is made up of three novels: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago. Butler is an excellent storyteller, with a “hard science fiction” bent in this trilogy that is satisfying as well as thought-provoking.
The series takes place in an interesting sort of dystopian future, where humans have destroyed Earth and each other almost completely. An alien race steps in to save what is left, hoping to trade genetic material to ensure the survival of both humanity and themselves. The aliens believe humankind, if left unaltered, contain a “Contradiction” between their high intelligence and their hierarchical nature that will lead to eventual demise in every scenario, as was already proven by our destruction. A fascinating thought to consider, isn’t it?
While my own personal prose style preference strays closer to that of Amor Towles, thematically Butler does a masterful job of exploring sexuality, race, species, gender, and humanity — deftly and also in an entirely un-preachy way. While decades old at this point, Lilith’s Brood is almost frighteningly relevant to us today. Are we doomed to obliterate ourselves without some kind of outside intervention? Can our intelligence outweigh our hierarchical strivings? Is our stubbornness a boon or a hindrance? It may be that history will have to play itself out before we can answer these questions, but Butler gives us a powerful nudge to think about these things sooner than later — all tied up in an engaging alien-encounter package.
Pink&GreenMusings 