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dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Earth has spent the last 250 years recovering from nuclear war. Only a small handful of humans survived the fallout, having been rescued and kept in stasis onboard the ship of an alien race, the Oankali. They Awaken a human woman, Lilith, from stasis and inform her that she is to select, Awaken, and prepare the remaining survivors onboard the ship to return to and repopulate Earth…
The important pieces:
This book was about the vibes for me. “Dawn” is incredibly chilling and off-putting. It’s a dark story throughout, but the horror sinks in at a slow pace and is almost sneakily disturbing in its later reveal.
The characters, character development, and world building are lacking but don’t really seem to be the main focus. I don’t really care for any of the human-to-human relationships. I don’t even particularly care for Lilith. However, the fascination the Oankali have with humans—the utility in their flaws, their ability to harbor so much life and death within themselves—and the bond Lilith creates with the ooloi child Nikanj are perverse, complicated, and beautiful.
Oh, the abuse. Chemical, physiological, and psychological manipulation by the Oankali plays out in such a way that you, the reader, start to feel manipulated yourself. You get a taste of the unease and internal conflict one must feel in assimilating to stay alive only to find oneself loathing and loving one’s captors, one’s children… I still couldn’t find it in myself to hate the Oankali at the end, but I sure did hate the humans.
The important pieces:
This book was about the vibes for me. “Dawn” is incredibly chilling and off-putting. It’s a dark story throughout, but the horror sinks in at a slow pace and is almost sneakily disturbing in its later reveal.
The characters, character development, and world building are lacking but don’t really seem to be the main focus. I don’t really care for any of the human-to-human relationships. I don’t even particularly care for Lilith. However, the fascination the Oankali have with humans—the utility in their flaws, their ability to harbor so much life and death within themselves—and the bond Lilith creates with the ooloi child Nikanj are perverse, complicated, and beautiful.
Oh, the abuse. Chemical, physiological, and psychological manipulation by the Oankali plays out in such a way that you, the reader, start to feel manipulated yourself. You get a taste of the unease and internal conflict one must feel in assimilating to stay alive only to find oneself loathing and loving one’s captors, one’s children… I still couldn’t find it in myself to hate the Oankali at the end, but I sure did hate the humans.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Misogyny, Blood, Car accident, Pregnancy