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A review by bringlaurasnacks
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.5
This book was... weird. Probably the most creative and unique take on extraterrestrials and the apocalypse that I've ever read. The world building and xenology was fascinating. I was hooked in the first half.
However, the second half was disturbing. This book is basically about aliens trying to repopulate the earth with human/alien hybrids after the a nuclear apocalypse so they can use them as "trade" partners. They understand consent even less than the very one dimensional and stereotypically misogynistic human males in the story. I found the human characters, other than the MC, to be somewhat unrealistic or overly simplified. Everyone was frustratingly bad at communicating to the point where it caused the social collapse of the human group.
I've loved everything Octavia Butler thus far, but it's impossible to overlook the general glossing over all the alien rape. Call it what it is.
However, the second half was disturbing. This book is basically about aliens trying to repopulate the earth with human/alien hybrids after the a nuclear apocalypse so they can use them as "trade" partners. They understand consent even less than the very one dimensional and stereotypically misogynistic human males in the story. I found the human characters, other than the MC, to be somewhat unrealistic or overly simplified. Everyone was frustratingly bad at communicating to the point where it caused the social collapse of the human group.
I've loved everything Octavia Butler thus far, but it's impossible to overlook the general glossing over all the alien rape. Call it what it is.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault