Adulthood Rites

Written by: Octavia E. Butler

First line: He remembered much of his stay in the womb.

Why you should read this book: Several years after the end of the previous book, Lilith and her three Oankali partners are living on the transformed Earth, where they and other like-minded individuals have grown their own living villages and begun giving birth to half-human, half Oankali "constructs." They are also sharing the planet with resisters--humans who refuse to accept the Oanlaki's help, or believe that they are truly sterile without alien assistance--who have no qualms about kidnapping construct children to make up for their inability to start families. Akin is the first human-born male construct, and he appears almost completely human, although he is very much a construct, but he is the only one who can convince the Oankali of the truth about the resisters.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If civilization collapsed and was in the process of being rebuilt, your major contribution would be to reinvent guns, liquor, and discrimination.