Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alba | 1987 | Octavia E. Butler | N/A |
| 2 | Dawn | 1987 | Octavia E. Butler | Buy |
| 3 | Adulthood Rites | 1988 | Octavia E. Butler | Buy |
| 4 | Imago | 1989 | Octavia E. Butler | Buy |
| 5 | Kindred | 1979 | Octavia E. Butler | Buy |
| 6 | Fledgling | 2005 | Octavia E. Butler | Buy |
The Xenogenesis trilogy — now most often found under the title Lilith’s Brood — follows humanity in the aftermath of nuclear war. An alien species called the Oankali have rescued the surviving humans from a dying Earth, but they want something in return. The Oankali are compulsive genetic traders, and they intend to merge with humanity, producing offspring that are neither fully human nor fully Oankali. They regard this as a gift. Most humans regard it as the end of their species.
The first novel, Dawn (1987), centers on Lilith Iyapo, a Black American woman chosen by the Oankali to help prepare other surviving humans for a return to Earth. Lilith has no good choices — she can cooperate and survive in a changed world, or resist and remain in suspended animation indefinitely. The novels that follow, Adulthood Rites (1988) and Imago (1989), shift to the next generation, following Lilith’s children as they navigate the tension between their human and Oankali natures and the communities that reject them.
Butler used the trilogy to examine what it means to be human when human identity itself has been altered, and whether the traits that make human beings who they are — competitiveness, aggression, the need for hierarchy — can survive the changes the Oankali regard as improvements. The series resists easy answers. The Oankali are not villains; they are simply beings with different values and greater power, which is its own kind of problem. The books remain among Butler’s most discussed works in both science fiction and academic contexts.