Adulthood Rites - Octavia E. Butler

Told in the haunting voice of Lilith, the heroine of Dawn, this book is thestory of Lilith's only son, Akin. Though he resembles a normal human, Akin isthe first construct--part man/part alien. \nFrom the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower: After the near-extinction of the human race, one young man with extraordinary gifts will reveal whether the human race can learn from its past and rebuild their future . . . or is doomed to self-destruction. \nIn the future, nuclear war has destroyed nearly all humankind. An alien race intervenes, saving the small group of survivors from certain death. But their salvation comes at a cost. \n \nThe Oankali are able to read and mutate genetic code, and they use these skills for their own survival, interbreeding with new species to constantly adapt and evolve. They value the intelligence they see in humankind but also know that the species--rigidly bound to destructive social hierarchies--is destined for failure. They are determined that the only way forward is for the two races to produce a new hybrid species--and they will not tolerate rebellion. \n \nAkin looks like an ordinary human child. But as the first true human-alien hybrid, he is born understanding language, then starts to form sentences at two months old. He can see at a molecular level and kill with a touch. More powerful than any human or Oankali, he will be the architect of both races' future. But before he can carry this new species into the stars, Akin must reconcile with his own heritage in a world already torn in two.\n