Reading order
Lilith's Brood reading order
1
2
3- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 1987–1989
- Published
- about 15 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Science fiction#45
- Genre
Quick answer
Publication order
3 volumes1987–1989Completed
- Also published as the Xenogenesis trilogy: humanity’s survivors are rescued by aliens who want to merge with them.
- Dawn follows Lilith; the next two follow her children, so read in order.
- Ratings rise slightly book by book; all three were collected as Lilith’s Brood in 2000.
A plan for the whole series
3 volumes, 824 pages, about 15 hours. At 45 min a day that is 20 days.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: medium
Stages
This series fits in one stage. You finish around November 18, 2026.
- Stage 115 h20 daysby November 18, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
Does the series hold up
Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.1 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.
Best volume: Imago (8.0, 169 ratings). Weakest: Dawn (8.0). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.0) scores close to the series average or above it.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
Lilith's Brood books ranked, best to worst
- 1.ImagoBook 3 · 19898.0
- 1.Adulthood RitesBook 2 · 19888.0
- 1.DawnBook 1 · 19878.0
Frequently asked questions
Which Lilith's Brood book is the best?
By reader score, Imago (8.0/10). The lowest-rated is Dawn (8.0/10).
Which Lilith's Brood book is the longest?
“Adulthood Rites” is the longest at 304 pages; the shortest is “Dawn” with 256 pages.
What should I read after Lilith's Brood?
Other series by Octavia E. Butler: Patternist series, Earthseed.
