Thus the first part of the book sees Lilith having to not only learn about the Oankali, but also come to terms with being handled as a pet or a child, even though she is fully aware that the Oankali represent literally the only hope of survival either she or the rest of humanity has. As part of this trade, they see nothing wrong in controlling others, including Lilith, using a combination of gentle force, implacable patience and blatant psychological manipulation. The Oankali are genetic traders, and their ultimate goal is to fuse their race with humanity, creating hybrid human/Oankali children. Yet, it is not only externally that the Oankali are shown to be alien, but in the very way they think, which creates profound problems for Lilith, and the rest of the survivors.

Butler does not concentrate on the war, but begins directly with Lilith’s solitary incarceration, then her experiences learning about the Oankali, from their disturbingly different technology, based entirely on genetic and biological manipulation, to their family structure, featuring three sexes, male, female and ooloi, the none gendered sex responsible for manipulating the biochemistry of others. Told in spare, straight forward prose with a deeply compelling rhythmic style, Dawn is one of the most riveting books I’ve read for some time. The Oankali will help humanity reclaim the Earth and start a new culture, but only at a price, a price which will change what it means to be human. 250 years have now passed, and the Earth is once again habitable. Neither does she remember her capture by the Oankali, the alien race who arrived just in time to salvage the last of the human race and place them in suspended animation aboard their massive biological ship. She barely remembers the war, the conflict between the USA and USSR which resulted in the almost total destruction of humanity. Therefore Lilith’s Brood was obviously a trilogy I needed to read, as it contains some of the strangest aliens ever written. As I’ve said before in reviews, one of my absolute loves in science fiction is exploring very alien aliens, beings who do not just look different, but think, react and relate to each other in a truly inhuman way.

Dawn book octavia butler