History Literature / LilithsBrood

* EarthShatteringKaboom: [[spoiler: Turns out the Oankali aren't that nice after all -- they're basically strip-mining Earth to make more spaceships because of their drive to genetically merge with other species, hence they can't just let a society of fertile humans alone]].

** The third sex produces PronounTrouble for humans in the first book. One human character thinks of the ooloi as "he" or "she" and the males and females as sexless due to the apparent Oankali power structure. Lilith is glad at first that ooloi are called "it", considering [[ItIsDehumanizing she greatly dislikes]] the only one she's met.[[note]](This may also induce ValuesDissonance for a modern reader who intuits the singular "they" as proper to a third gender.)[[/note]] At one point in the third book, an ooloi [[LampshadeHanging muses on the difficulty]] of [[GenderNeutralWriting speaking in Spanish about]] a sibling who isn't male or female.

* PunyEarthlings: Compared to humans, the Oankali are stronger, tougher, and longer-lived; have superior senses and vastly more efficient metabolisms; are more mentally stable; and are much more technologically advanced; to say nothing of their ability to {{Heal|ingHands}}, [[TouchOfDeath kill]], or perform comprehensive {{genetic engineering|IsTheNewNuke}} with a touch.

** The third sex produces PronounTrouble for humans in the first book. One human character thinks of the ooloi as "he" or "she" and the males and females as sexless due to the apparent Oankali power structure. Lilith is glad at first that ooloi are called "it", considering [[ItIsDehumanizing she greatly dislikes]] the only one she's met. (This may also induce ValuesDissonance for a modern reader who intuits the singular "they" as proper to a third gender.) At one point in the third book, an ooloi [[LampshadeHanging muses on the difficulty]] of [[GenderNeutralWriting speaking in Spanish about]] a sibling who isn't male or female.

** The third sex produces PronounTrouble for humans in the first book. One human character thinks of the ooloi as "he" or "she" and the males and females as sexless due to the apparent Oankali power structure. Lilith is glad at first that ooloi are called "it", considering [[ItIsDehumanizing she greatly dislikes]] the only one she's met.

* AlienGenderConfusion: Humans have a very hard time figuring out what sex an Oankali is if it's not an adult [[BizarreAlienSexes ooloi]]. Due to [[MenActWomenAre how Oankali reproduction works,]] the "active" ooloi present human men with an [[IncompatibleOrientation apparently nonviable pairing]] when they try to seduce them. If the man gets past his confusion, it may still be [[IfItsYouItsOkay only for a single ooloi.]]

* AlienGenderConfusion: Humans have a very hard time figuring out what sex an Oankali is, considering that the only visible difference is usually size. Due to [[MenActWomenAre how Oankali reproduction works,]] ooloi present human men with an [[IncompatibleOrientation apparently nonviable pairing]] when they try to seduce them. If the man gets past his confusion, it may still be [[IfItsYouItsOkay only for a single ooloi.]]

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Lilith Iyapo is the source of the name's ominous in-universe connotations, thanks to human "resisters" calling her the betrayer of humanity for being the first to cooperate with the Oankali's crossbreeding strategy.

** The Dinso Oankali we see onscreen have been altered to make communication and cross-breeding with humans even ''possible.'' The Akjai Oankali are unaltered, and resemble enormous, deaf pillbugs that communicate via chemical clouds.