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miandrade's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Confinement, and Gaslighting
biblio_jordyn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m dipping my toes into a genre I haven’t really tried...SCI-Fi.
I binged this book in a day.
I found it to be interesting & exciting & weird in the best way!
The way the author built the world in the novel mixing in the familiar with the unfamiliar was great, especially for a novice sci-fi reader, like myself.
AND WAIT THERE’S MORE...
This book was first published in 87, so before reading I did have some concerns on some societal ideas it may have... BUT, I was completely shocked/pleased with how before it’s time it was regarding nonbinary identity.
The author writes:
“It’s wrong to assume that I must be a sex you’re familiar with.”
And then later when someone refuses to acknowledge that a being does not fit into a sex?
“..a kind of deliberate, persistent ignorance.”
In 1987 with these ideas that are still so relevant?!?! YES I AM HERE FOR IT.
Also, the fact that the beings that don’t conform to the gender roles are aliens and it was an alien concept at the time that this was written? That’s cool.
I will say the non-binary beings weren’t referred to as they/them but It, so just a warning it’s not perfect, but it did seem like a choice by those people.
This book was thought provoking & different!
I binged this book in a day.
I found it to be interesting & exciting & weird in the best way!
The way the author built the world in the novel mixing in the familiar with the unfamiliar was great, especially for a novice sci-fi reader, like myself.
AND WAIT THERE’S MORE...
This book was first published in 87, so before reading I did have some concerns on some societal ideas it may have... BUT, I was completely shocked/pleased with how before it’s time it was regarding nonbinary identity.
The author writes:
“It’s wrong to assume that I must be a sex you’re familiar with.”
And then later when someone refuses to acknowledge that a being does not fit into a sex?
“..a kind of deliberate, persistent ignorance.”
In 1987 with these ideas that are still so relevant?!?! YES I AM HERE FOR IT.
Also, the fact that the beings that don’t conform to the gender roles are aliens and it was an alien concept at the time that this was written? That’s cool.
I will say the non-binary beings weren’t referred to as they/them but It, so just a warning it’s not perfect, but it did seem like a choice by those people.
This book was thought provoking & different!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Confinement, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Rape and Child death
kirkspockreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Confinement, and Body horror
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Homophobia
justinlife's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Reading books like this makes me upset that science fiction/speculative fiction/fantasy gained a reputation of being a boy's club, primarily a white boy's club. When I think of the genre, I think of Philip K Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Tolkien and Lewis, etc. I don't recall hearing a lot about the women who created and thrived in the genre, but they did and they created amazing works.
This is a beautiful, fascinating start to a series. It's post apocalyptic, it's alien invasion, it's futuristic. It's brilliant. This is one of those books that feels hard to describe without giving away a lot. Humans wrecked the earth and the remaining were abducted by aliens to study and rebuild the planet. Lilith is the protagonist, a black woman who lost her family before the war and is tasked with adjusting to the alien species and ensuring that other humans can survive in the new earth.
One thing I appreciated about the novel was how alien the aliens are. They aren't too humanoid. Butler describes them over and over again as frightening and disgusting. It's also interesting what qualities she gives the aliens that she doesn't give her humans. I appreciate all that a reader can take from this book- a discussion on colonialism, the strength of the human spirit, women in power, black women in power, consent, genetic manipulation, power dynamics. There's so much here.
This is a great start to a series and I look forward to reading the next two. Butler's prose is sharp and keeps the pacing moving quickly. This is a book that once you start, you might not want to put down.
Warning: Sexual assault, violence, consent
This is a beautiful, fascinating start to a series. It's post apocalyptic, it's alien invasion, it's futuristic. It's brilliant. This is one of those books that feels hard to describe without giving away a lot. Humans wrecked the earth and the remaining were abducted by aliens to study and rebuild the planet. Lilith is the protagonist, a black woman who lost her family before the war and is tasked with adjusting to the alien species and ensuring that other humans can survive in the new earth.
One thing I appreciated about the novel was how alien the aliens are. They aren't too humanoid. Butler describes them over and over again as frightening and disgusting. It's also interesting what qualities she gives the aliens that she doesn't give her humans. I appreciate all that a reader can take from this book- a discussion on colonialism, the strength of the human spirit, women in power, black women in power, consent, genetic manipulation, power dynamics. There's so much here.
This is a great start to a series and I look forward to reading the next two. Butler's prose is sharp and keeps the pacing moving quickly. This is a book that once you start, you might not want to put down.
Warning: Sexual assault, violence, consent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Death, Homophobia, and Racism
demo's review against another edition
3.0
tw: coerced rape
This book was recommended to me as it ticked a few boxed of the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. Sci-fi is not a genre I ordinarily read or enjoy. I find invented alien races and their languages inherently contrived (sorry) which makes it hard for me to finish a novel. I was intrigued, though, by a sci-fi novel written by a woman of colour. I was told Butler's work used alien races to explore issues such as xenophobia, paternalism and colonialism instead of fetishising them or using them as a vehicle to assert human domination. This she does brilliantly, and her work is definitely unlike any other sci-fi work I have consumed through any medium.
Sadly, I found Lilith intolerable. The first half of the book? Awesome! But once she started to Awaken other humans? Hmm. I tried to find sympathy for her (perhaps the ooloi bonds are similar to a trauma bond or Stockholm Syndrome?) but after she was complicit and even took "perverse pleasure" in Joseph's coerced rape by Nikhanj I just couldn't stick by her. To go from "There'll be no rape here" to that? Nope. Sorry. You lost me Lilith. That's fucked. (If you're not sure what I'm taking about, this article breaks it down really well.)
To be fair, I don't think Octavia Butler wanted me to walk away from this book feeling jolly and content. It was meant to be disturbing. Perhaps her intention was to let us feel our convictions, projecting no explicit moral judgement of her own. I just can't help but feel that not clarifying that scene was indeed sexual assault is reckless. Another reviewer here said she thought Butler crossed a line in the last quarter of the book, and I think I agree.
In terms of writing style, the narration was a little repetitive and limited, and the range of human reactions was pretty much isolated to shrugging and jumping. That said, Butler's sensory descriptions of the ship were vivid. The novel was artfully well-paced (something I truly appreciate) and I was compelled to finish it, even though I stopped liking it.
I so wanted to love this book and I think after spending some time thinking about it I may grow to like it. I think I need to untangle my dislike of Lilith from my dislike of the book itself. Undecided as to whether I'll read the next two. I probably will, but not for some time. It's not light reading, that's for sure.
This book was recommended to me as it ticked a few boxed of the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. Sci-fi is not a genre I ordinarily read or enjoy. I find invented alien races and their languages inherently contrived (sorry) which makes it hard for me to finish a novel. I was intrigued, though, by a sci-fi novel written by a woman of colour. I was told Butler's work used alien races to explore issues such as xenophobia, paternalism and colonialism instead of fetishising them or using them as a vehicle to assert human domination. This she does brilliantly, and her work is definitely unlike any other sci-fi work I have consumed through any medium.
Sadly, I found Lilith intolerable. The first half of the book? Awesome! But once she started to Awaken other humans? Hmm. I tried to find sympathy for her (perhaps the ooloi bonds are similar to a trauma bond or Stockholm Syndrome?) but after she was complicit and even took "perverse pleasure" in Joseph's coerced rape by Nikhanj I just couldn't stick by her. To go from "There'll be no rape here" to that? Nope. Sorry. You lost me Lilith. That's fucked. (If you're not sure what I'm taking about, this article breaks it down really well.)
To be fair, I don't think Octavia Butler wanted me to walk away from this book feeling jolly and content. It was meant to be disturbing. Perhaps her intention was to let us feel our convictions, projecting no explicit moral judgement of her own. I just can't help but feel that not clarifying that scene was indeed sexual assault is reckless. Another reviewer here said she thought Butler crossed a line in the last quarter of the book, and I think I agree.
In terms of writing style, the narration was a little repetitive and limited, and the range of human reactions was pretty much isolated to shrugging and jumping. That said, Butler's sensory descriptions of the ship were vivid. The novel was artfully well-paced (something I truly appreciate) and I was compelled to finish it, even though I stopped liking it.
I so wanted to love this book and I think after spending some time thinking about it I may grow to like it. I think I need to untangle my dislike of Lilith from my dislike of the book itself. Undecided as to whether I'll read the next two. I probably will, but not for some time. It's not light reading, that's for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Body horror
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