Imago
by Octavia E. ButlerGenres: Fiction, Science Fiction, General
Published on April 1st 1997
Pages: 224
The futures of both humans and Oankali rest in one young being's successful metamorphosis into adulthood.
I’ve reviewed the two other books in this series – Dawn and Adulthood Rites. Those books made me really, really hate humans.
To sum up – humanity has been rescued and the Earth restored by an alien race after an environmental disaster in exchange for humans agreeing to cross breed with them. Humans act like fools from then on out.
This book looks at the situation from the point of view of a cross bred child who is turning out to be the third gender seen in the alien race. He is the first to develop in this way. This gender is able to bond family units consisting of a human female, a human male, an alien female, and an alien male with itself. It mixes genetic material from all the partners to make offspring.
Honestly, I enjoyed this book the most of the series but without the outrage at the humans that I had in the other books I don’t have that much to talk about. It is a good series ender and is an interesting look at nonbinary gender relationships.
