Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

60 reviews

malessia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Alien sex made me uncomfortable ngl

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

reading_for_pluto's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual assault, Cancer, and Violence

liormaleficent's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Drug use, Cancer, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Death, Sexual violence, Genocide, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Suicide, and Confinement

kristie_deaver's review against another edition

challenging tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Incredibly well written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Toxic relationship

zifk's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence and Death

Minor: Rape

ms_gouldbourne's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.5

This book had me in thrall from beginning to end. I couldn't put it down. I still don't know if I'm more fascinated or horrified by Octavia Butler's depiction of alien assimilation, in all its sticky morally grey tentacle porn glory, but I do know that I sped through the book and have already reserved the next one at my local library, so that has to be a good sign!

Dawn follows Lilith, a woman held captive by an alien race called the Oankali after the destruction of the Earth and most of the human race in a nuclear war. The Oankali are looking to genetically trade with the last remaining vestiges of humanity, developing their species through interbreeding - and it's made clear that they'll be doing this with or without the consent of the humans involved, viewing Lilith fondly but more like a pet than an intelligent equal.

I won't say more to avoid spoilers, but Dawn throws up a huge number of big ethical questions and goes to some pretty creepy places in its quest to answer them. I do think the story could have done without quite so many sexual threads running through it - characters didn't seem to be able to form strong or lasting relationships without some sexual element to them, and consent was certainly a grey area at times - but overall I was completely captivated by this intriguing, sometimes shudder-inducing story, and I can't wait to read the next one in the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body horror, Drug use, and Xenophobia

Minor: War

andyetandrew's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Sexual assault

bucklace27's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual content

mrising1's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

Devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Rape, Slavery, Grief, Genocide, Confinement, Torture, Violence, and Sexual assault

pqodom's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

A character induces another to non-consensual sex