Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

17 reviews

ms_gouldbourne's review

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

mandi_lea's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Confinement, War, Gaslighting, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

finchthearcher's review

mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Medical content, War, Body horror, Cancer, and Colonisation

Moderate: Confinement and Violence

Minor: Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Incest

hazeyjane_2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Death

Moderate: Body horror

tigerbalmbby's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Murder, Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Confinement

blazingquill's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Rape, Xenophobia, Cancer, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Murder, Violence, and Cancer

Minor: Genocide, Incest, War, Child death, Car accident, Infertility, and Torture

readingsofaslinky's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Murder, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, War, and Xenophobia

ecster's review

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Rape, Cancer, Colonisation, and Body horror

alspacedout's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

"[Butler] wasn't writing romance or feel-good novels, she was writing very difficult, brilliant work." 
--
Stunning piece of speculative fiction that I hated reading. Worth it, but it will squick you out. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Murder, Racism, and Rape

The Oankali are a species that either physically and conceptually can't understand consent, or just have no interest in understanding it. If you are triggered by intimate partner violence, coercion, manipulation, this will be a ROUGH read, it was very, very uncomfortable.

nidzi_c's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Body horror