Lilith's Brood

After humanity's near self-destruction on earth, an alien race swoops in to save the survivors. The Oankali are a species that is driven by life and procreation and the sharing and mixing of genetic material. They absorb other species by merging with them. Lilith is our protagonist in the first of the three novels in the series. By choosing life she reluctantly becomes the guide for other humans in uniting with the Oankali in their form of partnership, to gain the right to return to life on Earth. Part scifi-story, part mind-opener about different forms of sexuality and family, the series is super thought-provoking, as you're going from Lilith's mind to the mind of her human-Oankali construct child in the 2nd part. You see/feel both sides of the story, and mostly lose track of the terror of it, as you're lulled into the storytelling the same way the Ooloi slowly seduce and bind humans with their pheromones. What is the importance of consent, when our bodies are simply driven by chemicals and can be persuaded to enjoy/become everything? And when you zoom out, is humanity's hierarchical nature truly what drives it to self-destruction, have we never been meant to stick around for longer anyways?