Imago

Shorter (I think) than the first two and not quite as strong. I liked it plot wise as an ending to the series, eg it felt full enough of a circle, but the signature character and relationship development I've usually gotten from Butler seemed less present, more rushed. I guess at some point you have a large enough cast of characters that it's difficult to juggle them all with real depth – although in this case, the final book was (unlike the others) written in first person, and it seemed to share one of the complaints I had about the Parables: the cyclical and even repetitive thinking of the narrator, parsing a philosophical question or ideal. To me it's clear that Butler shines best with multiple viewpoints. I also wish the story had done more to question the validity and righteousness of the Oankali (but perhaps that's the resister human in me). By the end of the series, none of the characters had any remaining real objection to the manipulation from the Oankali. Which is maybe the point. It is interesting to read a book that does not give as much narrative punch to the “humans resisting alien colonization” argument as to the “humans are irreparable, inevitably destructive, and maybe thus aliens aren't so bad” one.