Generation One

Pittacus Lore

Starting a new series in the Lorien Legacies world. We are post war with the Mogadorians and the Garde have won, with the help of the new human garde of course. With Loric energy infusing a new generation, we of course need to start a Professor Xavier like school in order to train the newly powerful humans how to be safe... and to control and use these powers. So we go to school, meet a few of the new human garde, not all of whom are excited to be chosen. They get restless, get into trouble, uncover a vast conspiracy, and learn a lot about themselves in the process of fighting crime and corruption. This is as entertaining as the X-files, and about as deep. In fact, I am increasingly aware of the fact that this could easily have been written by an AI trained in formulaic YA sci-fi.

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Dawn

Octavia E. Butler
Book 1 of the Xenogenesis Trilogy

I found this at the library and thought that I have discovered a new Octavia Butler series. And then I remembered that she had passed more than a decade ago. And then a perusal of the publication date places this trilogy in the late 80's. How did I miss it? Another reminder of how vast the literary library is, and how little I have actually read.

This book opens with Lilith coming awake and finding herself in an alien ship. Humanity is post global destruction war and was "rescued" by an alien race from a now toxic earth. Lilith is woken to begin the process of reintroducing humans to earth... and participating in "trade" with this alien species. The Oankali see themselves as a benevolent species, saving humans from extinction at the cost of genetic mixing to create a new species that will better populate a revived earth. Lilith (like all humans in this story) finds this forced genetic mixing repulsive. Fascinatingly analogous to a captive breeding program for nearly extinct species, coupled with genetic engineering of the species to promote sustainability. But we never ask the condor, or the white rhino, etc. whether it is willing to undergo genetic modification to "save itself". Now humans are the rhinos...

Lilith is conflicted, the Oankali are oblivious to their genetic colonialism, and the reader is 50-50 on whether they recognize the irony of thinking of certain colonialism as OK and other as repulsive. Fabulous.

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The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three

Stephen King

Book 2 of The Dark Tower Series

First of all, I find it interesting that only a month after finishing the first in the series, I open the second and barely remember anything described in the "review" prologue. This is one of two things: the reason I found the first insubstantial is that I was paying attention to the wrong things, or upon writing the second King finally realizes the direction he wants to go and highlights (in hindsight) the pieces that take there. I have not had such a strong "literary amnesia" in such a short time before. That said, this second volume does set the hook for the story, bringing in additional "modern time" characters that have developed character as well as spending enough time with the gunslinger making decisions to start to understand his character. So I have now been pulled in to this long saga, albeit not deep enough to rush out and buy every volume. I will wait until my library is willing to share each in turn...

Upgraded to Read (perhaps prematurely?)