Synopses & Reviews
MacArthur Foundation grant recipient Octavia E. Butler's award-winning novels have earned her an acclaimed place in women's fiction, African-American literature, and speculative fiction. The Xenogenesis Series is an evocative, sensual and disturbing epic of human transformation.
Dawn
Lilith Iyapo is in the remote Andes, mourning the death of her husband and son, when nuclear war destroys the world. Centuries later, she revives, held captive aboard a starship.
Miraculously powerful and hideously grotesque galactic beings, the Oankali have rescued the planet and the war's victims out of an irresistible need to heal and a greater need to change all they touch. For the Oankali survive by merging genetically with primitive peoples without their permission.
Lilith's children will inherit the Earth and stars. But they will be more and other than human.
Review
"Engrossing...thought provoking. A new Octavia Butler novel (including this one) is an exciting event." Locus
Review
"Butler is among the best SF writers, blessed with a mind capable of conceiving complicated futuristic situations that shed considerable light on our current affairs. Her prose is lean and literate, her ideas expansive and elegant." Houston Post
Review
"Butler's spare, vivid prose style invites comparison with the likes of Kate Wilhelm and Ursula Le Guin..." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"Butler brings Toni Morrison to mind." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
One woman is called upon to rebuild the future of humankind after a nuclear war, in this revelatory post-apocalyptic tale from the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower.
When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali - a seemingly benevolent alien race -- intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then putting them into a deep sleep. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth -- but salvation comes at a price.
Hopeful and thought-provoking, this post-apocalyptic narrative deftly explores gender and race through the eyes of characters struggling to adapt during a pivotal time of crisis and change.
Synopsis
Lilith lyapo awoke from a centuries-long sleep to find herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. Creatures covered in writhing tentacles, the Oankali had saved every surviving human from a dying, ruined Earth. They healed the planet, cured cancer, increased strength, and were now ready to help Lilith lead her people back to Earth but for a price.
About the Author
Octavia E. Butler is the author of many novels, including Kindred, Wild Seed, and Parable of the Sower. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Award and a Nebula Award, and she has twice won the Hugo Award. She passed away on February 24, 2006, at the age of 58.