Reviews with content warning for Rape - Dawn

I won't soon forget this book. The premise is that a colonising alien species takes over our world, our very reproduction. It is a frighteningly realistic allegory despite being fantastical - the Oankali are as foreign to us as white colonisers must have seemed to the Aboriginal people they enslaved.

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whirling_words's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

4.0

Dark and challenging read, challenges you to think more critically about the trope of aliens coming in to save the world and the humans in it. Like all Octavia Butler, a difficult read but overall a great one. 4 out of 5 due to time skip issue and some inconsistencies.

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blazingquill's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective 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? Yes

4.0

This is a disturbing read that creates a horrific story about breaches in consent and the abuse of colonization. It asks the question, “what are you able to do when you’re helpless?” then weaves a complex answer considering love, hate, and resistance. It’s a story that could not have come from another author, and I think is an important read.

That being said, despite its discussion of gender, it maintains a very cis and straight perspective throughout, which effected my reading of the book. There is also a very complex relationship that edges into both abuse and pedophilia that I think was intended to be read as disturbing but I know could be interpreted differently. Heavy content warnings as well for: nonconsensual procedures, noncon relationships, rape, forced sterilization, and sensory deprivation torture.

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britreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

4.5

This was a hard book to read because of the subject matter. I absolutely despised the Oankali and how manipulative they were. The humans were also difficult to root for, though I certainly sympathized with them on some level. They're actions and anxieties felt reasonable given the situation they were in. I also empathized with Lilith. I truly felt bad for her by the end and wished for a better ending, though given Butler's close examination of the real world, it's clear Lilith was never going to have a 'good' ending.

I wish more time was spent developing the emotional connection between the humans. Once they were introduced, it felt like everyone immediately paired with someone of the opposite gender. (It seemed convenient that all of the humans were straight...though given the Oakali's tendency to deeply interrogate the surviving humans, I wouldn't be surprised if they intentionally selected people who were straight.) Even though Butler focused on a few reoccurring human characters, they seemed to run together.

This was a HEAVY read. It was one of the heaviest reads so far this year and while I want to read the entire trilogy, I will pace myself and recommend other people who are interested in this series spread out their reading as well.

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impla77's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This is a very complex book.. I have to say I love the complicated dynamics of family structures in Butler’s books, but can’t really connect to the interpersonal relationships. This book is I feel quite depressing in the end, with a focus on consent that repeatedly gets violated by the aliens and a general feeling of hopelessness in Lilith’s situation.

I would say that I’m not really sure I liked the direction the plot went with. It seems like there are timeskips where explanation of what happened would probably be beneficial, and again would help in making me believe these relationships between the characters. Overall a very interesting read and I will continue the series.

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storybookvisitor's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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stefhyena's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

It was well written, interesting, unique and far too rapey for me. I don't think the intent was to make rape palatable but there was too much attempt to make consent more complex than I am ok with it being. Considering this was back in the 80s I sort of get it but the idea of "your words said yes but your body betrayed your real desires" is horrible, especially when it's against the best interests of the character. Butler does not make her own moral standpoint on that clear but it happens again and again and it's unpleasant to read about and I didn't feel it was a useful thought.

There are a couple of attempted rapes by human males and Lilith fights them as she does not fight other non-consensual stuff. The result is a "naturalisation" of rape. At one point we are told that the men were angry because being non-consensually taken by the aliens positioned them as women. Even if this is some sophisticated, ironic point Butler is making I don't find that useful. It just made me hate all the characters.

As far as Lilith goes I did invest in her early on and stayed more or less loyal even though I did not agree with things. Treating her as a character is if anything cruel optimism because any agancy she has turns out to be an illusion. To the aliens, for all they call humans "trading partners" what they are doing is colonising and enslaving them. This is possibly a good point to consider but then the humans in the book are evil and horrible too and it leaves you feeling like there is nothing to hope for or strive for - sentient life is just rotten. There are no good guys whatsoever in this.

As I said it was well written and easy to dip back into every time I got a free moment. I wanted to know what happens next because I wrongly thought (this being the first of a series) that we'd be given a moderately happy and hopeful ending.

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ecster's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

It's really interesting to read this book through an ethical vegan lens, as there's a strong animal rights thread throughout. Having said that, the Oankali's refusal to eat anything other than plant based food belies their treatment of humans...

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