I was SO looking forward to this sequel, after Dawn left off on such a disturbing cliffhanger. I wanted to know how Lilith processed that new step in her genetic partnership with the Oankali, how that impacted her relationships, whether or not she would stay in the world the Oankali had constructed. But she was disappointingly absent from this phase of the world’s story, which picked up with one of her later offspring. She is so immersed in the day-to-day of life that it appears that she scarcely thinks about how they got there. Sure, she goes off by herself sometimes, and she remains a distant, passionate figure. But everything is already settled. The transition that I was hoping for was not where the story picked up.
Instead, we follow Akin, the first human-born male. Everyone watches him, because he walks the razor thin line between human and Oankali more closely than any other children who have been born to this world. As a child, he is pretty interesting—he can speak almost from birth, he remembers everything he learns, he suffers terribly as a result of his kidnapping, and his enhanced senses help him to interact with the world far more effectively than his human counterparts. He must come to understand both sides of his heritage to accomplish what he perceives to be his life’s purpose. But I really feel like his sympathies were completely with humans, even though there was a section dedicated to time exclusively with Oankali; it just didn’t land with much impact on him. His metamorphosis, too, was disappointing, shifting so dramatically between the mix of genetic materials that composes him. It just didn’t seem to fit with his trajectory to offer the humans another option for life.
If you liked Dawn, you may still like this; philosophically-flavored sci-fi fans would also probably enjoy, although I found the ideas becoming redundant. The central question of authority and autonomy is an interesting one, as is the questions of giving up one set of desires to achieve a utilitarian goal. I was fascinated by the characters’ drive to reproduce, though the spin is one of natural, biological instincts, driven by evolution, which I found unfortunate, as parents who just want children to love would have been more compelling (and true to reality). I also reject the premise that we are our genetics, which lays the foundation of the whole plot. Even the story reflects much more strongly that we are our choices, which, I believe, more closely matches reality.
That Lady Who Reads A Lot 
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