Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

25 reviews

pandact's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

5.0

It's wild to think that this book came less than a decade after the HeLa cell line was revealed to be Henrietta Lacks! The worldbuilding was so good that I liked the Ooankali when I read it as a kid, unaware of how they were colonizing human DNA! I think about Xenogenesis every time I hear genetic engineering, and I need to reread now that I know more about scientific ethics

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, Rape, and Colonisation

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

---

Content Warnings

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

Minor: Sexual assault, Cancer, and Violence

bibliobaggins_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Colonisation and Rape

Minor: Racism

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

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

Minor: War

mar's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

cool i will be thinking about this forever

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Confinement, and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Suicidal thoughts

this book is difficult to write concrete content warnings for, but consent is a major theme and the book includes many scenes of violated and questionable consent (not just in reference to sex)

finchthearcher's review against another edition

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

---

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

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.

---

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

---

Content Warnings

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

ecster's review against another edition

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...

---

Content Warnings

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

crowcollected's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

Amazing book. It talks a lot about consent, and blurs the lines between consensual and nonconsensual. The line is not clear-cut, and you have to figure out where some actions fall on your own, not just based on the objective facts of the situation but also the environment the actions are made in. It also talks a lot about choice, and the choices people make even when they've been stripped of all their choice.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Confinement

Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, and Violence