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salemander's review against another edition
5.0
ahhhh this book made me feel so weird octavia butler you’ve done it again
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Violence, War, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Medical content
dana_scully's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
idk doesn’t seem like the worst outcome for humanity
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Minor: Racism, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Homophobia, Pregnancy, War, and Suicide
30something_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I am at an utter loss for words. This was incredible. It was deeply unsettling. I couldn't sleep last night.
I'm so torn between wanting to pick up the next book immediately but also needing 2-3 business days to process everything that happened.
I'm so torn between wanting to pick up the next book immediately but also needing 2-3 business days to process everything that happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Violence
Minor: Cursing, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and War
lanid's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Confinement, and Body horror
Moderate: Colonisation, War, Violence, Murder, and Gore
Minor: Sexual content, Death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Kidnapping
vigil's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
so intriguing and against all odds, enticing, despite also being deeply horrifying. ms butler loves to make you uncomfortable, and by god does she do it here. i liked how butler really keenly portrayed the bond that occurs between a victim and abuser(s) and how often sexual assault is used as a way to create that tether and was able to sketch out the appeal that can exist in that relationship for a victim against all odds. lilith and nikanji are both very sympathetic yet also ambiguous figures (nikanji, more so, but lilith is beginning to gain on it towards the end) who's attachment to one another is very clear to the reader. the ethics of consent is something i've long been interested in and i'm intrigued by how its explored here, even if i don't necessarily agree with the alien's conclusions.
i'd say my one complaint was thatthis book is rather essentialist. its from 1987 so like, yeah obviously but i would've liked more exploration on it in a world building point of view. the onakali's essentialism didn't quite bother me, it fit with the attitudes the book potrayed them with but i would've liked a deeper explanation into it. what about onakali's who don't fit into the frame work of male-female-ooloi pairings? what in the culture or history led them here. but considering this book was founded off of octavia butler assuming something was wrong with humans in our genetics, i'm not too sure that's the aim of the book.
very dismayed at octavia butler becoming one of those black author's everyone quotes but never reads and posits as a moralizing figure here to teach ignorant white people. she's not one for moralizing and isn't trying to preach an agenda. many of her focuses lie in the frequent eroticism in fraught and distressing topics. this is because octavia butler at her core was a fucking freak.
i'd say my one complaint was that
very dismayed at octavia butler becoming one of those black author's everyone quotes but never reads and posits as a moralizing figure here to teach ignorant white people. she's not one for moralizing and isn't trying to preach an agenda. many of her focuses lie in the frequent eroticism in fraught and distressing topics. this is because octavia butler at her core was a fucking freak.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Misogyny, Violence, Rape, Genocide, Colonisation, Confinement, War, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Grief, Death, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Blood
monstrouscosmos's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Characters: 7.5/10
Relationships: 3/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 6.5/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 7/10
Internal Logic: 9/10
Entertainment: 3/10
Overall: 45/70, 3.25*
I read this for a challenge prompt, and chose it because I've struggled with other things I've read/listened to by Butler. while I'm glad I made it through and am grateful for the experience overall: this just wasn't something I could enjoy. I know that's kind of the point, so I'm glad I chose to listen to this when I knew I'd have the emotional bandwidth for it.
I listened to the Book 2 preview at the end and won't be continuing in the series, but I understand why it's so popular! it's just not for me.
Relationships: 3/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 6.5/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 7/10
Internal Logic: 9/10
Entertainment: 3/10
Overall: 45/70, 3.25*
I read this for a challenge prompt, and chose it because I've struggled with other things I've read/listened to by Butler. while I'm glad I made it through and am grateful for the experience overall: this just wasn't something I could enjoy. I know that's kind of the point, so I'm glad I chose to listen to this when I knew I'd have the emotional bandwidth for it.
I listened to the Book 2 preview at the end and won't be continuing in the series, but I understand why it's so popular! it's just not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Medical content, Blood, Murder, Body horror, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and War
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Incest
dreareads_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The way I love this book with everything I am.
Listen I’m making an unnecessarily long video review about this book, don’t worry. Just know…. It’s perfect.
Listen I’m making an unnecessarily long video review about this book, don’t worry. Just know…. It’s perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Torture, Grief, Self harm, War, Cursing, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Slavery, Suicide, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Murder, Sexual assault, Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
standard_disk's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation, Sexual assault, Suicide, and War
nigerianturtle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
It was a compelling and engaging read… I was conflicted in my review at first but honestly the book is beautifully written. There is a lot to think about and it is necessary to note that the author does not pass judgement on characters, the main character does. You see what she finds acceptable and what she falls prey to throughout the narration. I think she is incredibly contradictory and almost easily manipulated in a way that is really captivating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Colonisation
Moderate: Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Violence
maxierosalee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5/5 rating, rounded down.
I've had this on my TBR list for a long time, but it unfortunately kept getting buried by other books. I finally took some time to read it.
What a ride!
Enjoying this book is the same way you might enjoy something like a rigorous hike. This isn't an easy, fun read. This isn't a story of some wacky aliens and a human who tries to be friends with them. <i>Dawn</i> by Octavia E. Butler is a deep, intriguing, and unsettling read. The story discusses the nature of consent, reproductive agency, gender roles, community and identity, human nature, eugenics, and the ethics of assimilation. But Butler doesn't answer any questions about any of these subjects in her book. She explores them.
The premise is as follows: Lillith Ayapo is a human woman who lived on Earth right up until its destruction by nuclear war. But she did not die. Instead, she was saved alongside a handful of humanity by aliens known as the Oankali. The Oankali are a spacefaring race with three sexes: male, female, and ooloi. All three are needed for reproduction, and their social structure is shaped by the presence of these three sexes. The question quickly emerges: why did the Oankali rescue the humans? Out of the kindness of their hearts? As it turns out, the Oankali do want something from the humans: they want to breed with the humans and exchange genetic information.
There's so much to unwrap to this story. It would take so much time to discuss and go through every subject that I mentioned before! So, to keep it concise and spoiler-free, I will say that one of my absolute favorite things about this book is the depth in which Butler crafts each ethical issue. Obviously, most of us look at our current human history and say the following basic statements without much hesitation: colonization is bad, eugenics is bad, and consent is good. In <i>Dawn</i>, the same scenarios are presented but in a much more ambiguous way. Butler doesn't portray any parties in the book as the "good guys" or the "bad guys." There are many layers to every issue presented in the book, nothing is presented as shallow. There's no spoon-feeding of one-dimensional issues and villains.
Lillith too, is the same way. I've seen so many debates on her actions, how ethical they are, what would be the right thing to do in her shoes. But the way I see it...is there a right answer to this whole scenario? There's a very poignant issue of power balance between the humans and Oankali, one that Lillith finds herself right in the middle of. How much agency does she truly have in the role she's picked to play?
The questions of assimilation and consent in this novel are built so they do not have easy answers and everyone will take away their individual thoughts. The book is, essentially, your springboard. One of my favorite things is going online and seeing people have such widespread opinions on the morality of the Oankali and the situation the humans find themselves in.
The world and situation itself are interesting to read. It's a unique exploration of two common subjects in speculative fiction--the destruction of Earth and first contact. The way Butler describes the visceral reaction of Lillith to the Oankali is vivid. The aliens themselves have a touch of body horror to them in how, well, alien they are to us. The way they talk, the way they approach interaction with humans...it's a fascinating deep-dive without becoming a boring information dump. The stark, alien world that Butler creates for us makes the experience for the humans even more impressionable to me. I was feeling the same sense of awe and fear that the main characters felt.
There are scenes that were uncomfortable to read, that gave me uneasy knots in my stomach. But they only added to the experience of this story. It is a horrifying situation that the humans find themselves in, and things transpire that are shocking to read. Some of my all-time favorite fantasy and science fiction stories are the ones we can use as a reflection of our state of being.
The ending was quite abrupt to me, but honestly, I feel like that's my main complaint with 99% of the books I read. But I get it, the story moves forward. There's more to read about and see how things progress.
All in all, a very fascinating book. Honestly, the reason why I'm rounding down the rating instead of rounding it up to a 5 is that this is not a book that I will probably go back and re-read frequently. But you know what? This is definitely a novel that will stick with me.
I've had this on my TBR list for a long time, but it unfortunately kept getting buried by other books. I finally took some time to read it.
What a ride!
Enjoying this book is the same way you might enjoy something like a rigorous hike. This isn't an easy, fun read. This isn't a story of some wacky aliens and a human who tries to be friends with them. <i>Dawn</i> by Octavia E. Butler is a deep, intriguing, and unsettling read. The story discusses the nature of consent, reproductive agency, gender roles, community and identity, human nature, eugenics, and the ethics of assimilation. But Butler doesn't answer any questions about any of these subjects in her book. She explores them.
The premise is as follows: Lillith Ayapo is a human woman who lived on Earth right up until its destruction by nuclear war. But she did not die. Instead, she was saved alongside a handful of humanity by aliens known as the Oankali. The Oankali are a spacefaring race with three sexes: male, female, and ooloi. All three are needed for reproduction, and their social structure is shaped by the presence of these three sexes. The question quickly emerges: why did the Oankali rescue the humans? Out of the kindness of their hearts? As it turns out, the Oankali do want something from the humans: they want to breed with the humans and exchange genetic information.
There's so much to unwrap to this story. It would take so much time to discuss and go through every subject that I mentioned before! So, to keep it concise and spoiler-free, I will say that one of my absolute favorite things about this book is the depth in which Butler crafts each ethical issue. Obviously, most of us look at our current human history and say the following basic statements without much hesitation: colonization is bad, eugenics is bad, and consent is good. In <i>Dawn</i>, the same scenarios are presented but in a much more ambiguous way. Butler doesn't portray any parties in the book as the "good guys" or the "bad guys." There are many layers to every issue presented in the book, nothing is presented as shallow. There's no spoon-feeding of one-dimensional issues and villains.
Lillith too, is the same way. I've seen so many debates on her actions, how ethical they are, what would be the right thing to do in her shoes. But the way I see it...is there a right answer to this whole scenario? There's a very poignant issue of power balance between the humans and Oankali, one that Lillith finds herself right in the middle of. How much agency does she truly have in the role she's picked to play?
The questions of assimilation and consent in this novel are built so they do not have easy answers and everyone will take away their individual thoughts. The book is, essentially, your springboard. One of my favorite things is going online and seeing people have such widespread opinions on the morality of the Oankali and the situation the humans find themselves in.
The world and situation itself are interesting to read. It's a unique exploration of two common subjects in speculative fiction--the destruction of Earth and first contact. The way Butler describes the visceral reaction of Lillith to the Oankali is vivid. The aliens themselves have a touch of body horror to them in how, well, alien they are to us. The way they talk, the way they approach interaction with humans...it's a fascinating deep-dive without becoming a boring information dump. The stark, alien world that Butler creates for us makes the experience for the humans even more impressionable to me. I was feeling the same sense of awe and fear that the main characters felt.
There are scenes that were uncomfortable to read, that gave me uneasy knots in my stomach. But they only added to the experience of this story. It is a horrifying situation that the humans find themselves in, and things transpire that are shocking to read. Some of my all-time favorite fantasy and science fiction stories are the ones we can use as a reflection of our state of being.
The ending was quite abrupt to me, but honestly, I feel like that's my main complaint with 99% of the books I read. But I get it, the story moves forward. There's more to read about and see how things progress.
All in all, a very fascinating book. Honestly, the reason why I'm rounding down the rating instead of rounding it up to a 5 is that this is not a book that I will probably go back and re-read frequently. But you know what? This is definitely a novel that will stick with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence