Xenogenesis
Encyclopedia
Lilith's Brood is a collection of three works by Octavia Butler. The three volumes of this science fiction
series were previously collected in the now out of print volume, Xenogenesis. The collection was first published under the current title of Lilith's Brood in 2000.
, who come in three sexes - male, female and ooloi, a sex that mixes and manipulates the genetic material produced by the other two. The series also draws upon elements of the myth of Lilith
, the first wife of Adam.
Lilith's Brood (formerly the Xenogenesis trilogy) refers to a collection of three novels. The central characters are Lilith and her genetically altered children. Lilith, along with the few other surviving humans, are saved by extraterrestrials, the Oankali, after a "handful of people [a military group] tried to commit humanicide," leading to a missile war that destroyed much of Earth. The Oankali have a third gender, the ooloi, who have the ability to manipulate genetics, plus the ability of sexually seductive neural-stimulating and consciousness-sharing powers. All of these abilities allow them to unify the other two genders in their species, as well as unifying their species with others that they encounter. The Oankali are biological traders, driven to share genes with other intelligent species, changing both parties.
In the first novel in the trilogy, Dawn, published in 1987, Lilith Iyapo is found in the Andes Mountains, and revived from a biochemically induced hibernation by the Oankali following a nuclear war on earth which causes the near-extinction of humanity and destruction of 80% of its population. The goal of the Oankali is to colonize earth with Oankali-human hybrids.
In the trilogy's second book, Adulthood Rites, published in 1988, Akin, Lilith's part-Oankali
son is abducted by sterile human resisters, and held in a forest
prison.
The final book of the series, Imago, was published in 1989. It is about Lilith's ooloi child, Jodahs, who comes of age and integrates human and alien societies. In entomology
, an imago
is the adult stage of an insect; it's also a term used in Jungian psychology.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series were previously collected in the now out of print volume, Xenogenesis. The collection was first published under the current title of Lilith's Brood in 2000.
Synopsis
Lilith's Brood introduces the alien species, known as OankaliOankali
The Oankali are a fictional race of intelligent extraterrestrials in Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis book trilogy ....
, who come in three sexes - male, female and ooloi, a sex that mixes and manipulates the genetic material produced by the other two. The series also draws upon elements of the myth of Lilith
Lilith
Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, found earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be related to a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts. However, Lowell K. Handy notes, "Very little information has been found relating to the Akkadian and Babylonian view...
, the first wife of Adam.
Lilith's Brood (formerly the Xenogenesis trilogy) refers to a collection of three novels. The central characters are Lilith and her genetically altered children. Lilith, along with the few other surviving humans, are saved by extraterrestrials, the Oankali, after a "handful of people [a military group] tried to commit humanicide," leading to a missile war that destroyed much of Earth. The Oankali have a third gender, the ooloi, who have the ability to manipulate genetics, plus the ability of sexually seductive neural-stimulating and consciousness-sharing powers. All of these abilities allow them to unify the other two genders in their species, as well as unifying their species with others that they encounter. The Oankali are biological traders, driven to share genes with other intelligent species, changing both parties.
In the first novel in the trilogy, Dawn, published in 1987, Lilith Iyapo is found in the Andes Mountains, and revived from a biochemically induced hibernation by the Oankali following a nuclear war on earth which causes the near-extinction of humanity and destruction of 80% of its population. The goal of the Oankali is to colonize earth with Oankali-human hybrids.
In the trilogy's second book, Adulthood Rites, published in 1988, Akin, Lilith's part-Oankali
Oankali
The Oankali are a fictional race of intelligent extraterrestrials in Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis book trilogy ....
son is abducted by sterile human resisters, and held in a forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
prison.
The final book of the series, Imago, was published in 1989. It is about Lilith's ooloi child, Jodahs, who comes of age and integrates human and alien societies. In entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, an imago
Imago
In biology, the imago is the last stage of development of an insect, after the last ecdysis of an incomplete metamorphosis, or after emergence from the pupa where the metamorphosis is complete...
is the adult stage of an insect; it's also a term used in Jungian psychology.
Further reading
- Federmayer, Eva. "Octavia Butler's Maternal Cyborgs: The Black Female World of the Xenogenesis Trilogy." HJEAS: Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies 6.1 (2000): 103-18.
- Haraway, DonnaDonna HarawayDonna J. Haraway is currently a Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, United States...
. "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge, 1991: 149-181. - Holden, Rebecca J. "The High Costs of Cyborg Survival: Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis Trilogy." In Foundation: The International Review of Science FictionFoundation - The International Review of Science FictionFoundation: The International Review of Science Fiction is a critical peer-reviewed literary journal founded in 1972 that publishes articles and reviews about science fiction. It is published triannually by the Science Fiction Foundation and the editor in chief is Graham Sleight.-See...
, No.72 (Spring 1998): 49-57. - Jesser, Nancy. "Blood, Genes and Gender in Octavia Butler's KindredKindred (novel)Kindred is a 1979 novel by Octavia Butler. While most of Butler's work is classified as science fiction, Kindred is often shelved in literature or African-American literature and Butler herself categorized it as "a kind of grim fantasy"....
and Dawn." Extrapolation: A Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy 43.1 (2002): 36-61. - Osherow, Michelle. "The Dawn of a New Lilith: Revisionary Mythmaking in Women's Science Fiction." NWSA Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring 2000): 68-83.
- Peppers, Cathy. "Dialogic Origins and Alien Identities in Butler’s XENOGENESIS." Science Fiction Studies. No. 65, Vol. 22, 1995.
- Slonczewski, Joan. "Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy: A Biologist’s Response." Presented at SFRA, Cleveland, June 30, 2000.