A review by ashleysbookthoughts
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

5.0

I read Parable of the Sower last year and immediately knew that I needed more Octavia Butler in my life. How had I been sleeping on her for this long? Part of the issue is that I don’t really consider myself a science fiction reader, which is what Butler’s books are generally classified as. But I am a fan of speculative fiction and dystopian fiction, and in Butler’s version of sci-fi, there’s considerable overlap with these genres. So, in addition to being a glowing review, this is also a PSA to try reading genres you sometimes don’t consider. And if you’ve never read anything by Octavia Butler, please do so post haste. 

Let’s get the scary sci-fi part out of the way: there are aliens in this book. And while the aliens are a major factor, please know that this is so much more than a book about aliens. More than anything, it’s a book about humans, what it means to be human, and at what point in the evolutionary process does what we are fundamentally change?

Dawn was written in the 1980s, at the height of the Cold War, and it shows. Butler has a knack for looking at the world and imagining the long term consequences if we continue on our current trajectory. This book raises big questions. Does being human mean that we are destined to destroy ourselves? What are the ethical ramifications of animal research, breeding, and genetic modification? And, what price is too high to save our world?
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