Reviews

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

jlandie's review against another edition

that was crazyyyyy

leggsly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Where do I even start? It's difficult to rate this on a star scale because I thought the first half was quite slow, but the second half is one of my favorite books I've ever read.

I've never read sci-fi as philosophical as this, and I know it's going to taint my enjoyment of sci-fi novels going forward because of the high standard it has set. In Dawn, Butler weaves together themes including, but not limited to:

• Xenophobia - in the most literal sense, and its consequences
• Genetic engineering / selective breeding / at what point do these practices cross the line into eugenics?
• Gender and sexuality - what it means to exist outside the gender binary, and how this adds to alienation (literally); and how gender relates to "sexual deviance" (these themes are explored in a very hetero way, which I think is due to its being written in the 1980s)
• Free will / are humans inherently violent, prejudiced, and hierarchical? and how this relates to toxic masculinity
• The difference / blurred lines between consent, coercion, and manipulation
• and, of course... alien sex

Like, excuse me?? It's a lot to take in. And most of these themes are only deeply explored in the second half. And the book is less than 300 pages!

One of the traits that has skyrocketed Butler to the top of my "favorite authors" list is the way she isn't afraid to go there. She doesn't shy away from writing about sensitive topics (sexual assault and extreme violence in Dawn), because she is able to masterfully craft scenes that are shocking, provocative, and emotional, but not exploitative, while still furthering the plot and/or character development. I think it's her detached, simple writing style which reminds the reader that some horrors are just a part of life and we have to acknowledge them. She draws back or gets vague before scenes become too difficult to read (for me at least), but they're still impactful.

That being said... the first half was pretty slow. It mostly consists of world-and character-building, with little plot. But it wasn't so slow that I considered DNF'ing ever, because I knew something big was coming. And the second half certainly delivered!!!

I will definitely be continuing the series, and I hope the TV adaptation that's been in development for years eventually gets made, because I'd be curious to see how... certain scenes... are portrayed visually LOL

luliriisi's review

I just couldn't get myself to pick up the book even though whenever I did read it, it was fine. I just wasn't interested in finding out more.

planetmilagro's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

sashdb's review against another edition

3.0

offers curious inquiry about human interaction with the boundaries of self, connection, and empathy, both within and beyond humankind.

drinkthefloor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

butler, a black female author, was a groundbreaker in the field of sci-fi. the themes of gender, sexuality, otherness, and hierarchy shone through in a similar brilliance to ursula le guin but with an added sense of what it really means to be human and what humanity is. the dynamics of hierarchy and control over agency also provided another representation of who has the right to do what, paralleling the wider issue of colonialism and authoritarianism. the relationship between humanity and the unfamiliar alien was so interesting, grotesque, and so blunt. almost on the same level as fledgling but i am biased because i am a vampire enthusiast. 

piggejl's review against another edition

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

4.5

sapphicshark's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

harsitha's review against another edition

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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

5/5 

 

If you’re into science fiction and more specifically sci fi that involves humans interacting with aliens and how that could possibly go than Dawn is most definitely up your alley. This was weird from start to finish, but weird in a fascinating and can’t stop reading kind of way. 

 

The way Butler writes her characters are always the best part of her books because in Dawn the human are so, for lack of a better term, so ’Human’, they’ll frustrate you and make you ask yourself the age old questions, are human naturally good or bad? Spoiler alert! You never get that answer. 

 

And as for the aliens, well they were aliens. Their behaviors was ‘Alien’ and so was everything about them. 

livelywormy32's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0