Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1) in Our Shared Shelf

Mar 27, 2007 Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasysci-fi

I've had this book on my shelf for forever now, and I really don't know why I haven't read it before now. But I'm wicked glad I did, cause it was really really good! World blows itself up, and aliens rescue those still alive, nurse them back to health on their ship, but what do they want in return? Interesting twist on alien story. Very cool. And well-written too! Woot. ...more

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Aug 14, 2016 Lacey Louwagie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sciencefiction, faves, 2016-read-harder-challenge

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge Item: The First Book in a Series by a Person of Color

So, now I know why Octavia Butler is such a big deal.

I first acquired this book used about 10 years ago after a random stranger recommended her in a comment on a Livejournal post. Thank you, stranger, wherever you are. (I've run across her other times since then -- in a science fiction and feminist podcasts, in writing books, from other friends, but that long-ago recommendation is what spurred me to put one of h Book Riot Read Harder Challenge Item: The First Book in a Series by a Person of Color

So, now I know why Octavia Butler is such a big deal.

I first acquired this book used about 10 years ago after a random stranger recommended her in a comment on a Livejournal post. Thank you, stranger, wherever you are. (I've run across her other times since then -- in a science fiction and feminist podcasts, in writing books, from other friends, but that long-ago recommendation is what spurred me to put one of her books on my shelf -- and now I hope to add many more.)

The backstory is not all that important, but it's hard to put my reaction of this book into words. If I were to sum it up in a single word, it would be: haunting.

Well-rendered, alien species can often sell a sci-fi book for me, and in this one I was utterly fascinated by the Oankali and Lilith's relationship to them. While there are some pretty clear colonization parallels in the way the Oankali relate to Lilith and other humans, seeing the story purely through that lens is too simple. The Oankali are a complex people, and Butler never offers easy answers; they have saved the human race from extinction, but in return they expect to take over their very gene pool. They are paternalistic and perceive themselves as benevolent, and the fact that they treat Lilith (and the other humans) so kindly makes the questions of consent even more unsettling. It is not surprising that (view spoiler) One thing is certain: Lilith remains sympathetic throughout, and the real mastery of this novel is that the Oankali, despite standing in for the oppressors, do, too.

The only reason I gave this four stars instead of five is that my patience and interest waned somewhat in the middle section focused on Lilith and the other humans aboard the ship. There are a lot of characters, none of whom is developed with much depth, who behave overall in disappointing and frustrating ways that make this portion a bit of a slog to get through. But it's definitely worth holding on to the end -- now I need to get my hands on the rest of the series. [My library doesn't have anything by Butler, which is disgusting. Also disgusting is the white-washed cover on my copy of the book, despite the fact that Lilith is clearly described as black and the story itself can be seen as a metaphor for racial justice, or lack thereof. It's like the publisher didn't even *get* the issues the book was grappling with.] ...more

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Jan 13, 2024 Xanthe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction, sci-fi, poc-protagonist, poc-author, grief, photo-book, read-in-2024

Read for a sci-fi book club. Octavia Butler is so intelligent and sharp that there's just no escaping the terrible realities that she is exploring. Her writing is unflinching about depicting just how humanity just might destroy itself and how it would react to being given another chance. I didn't enjoy this story, but I appreciated it. ...more

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