Dawn, Octavia E Butler, Warner Books, 1987, 248 pp
This was my first time reading Octavia Butler and I found it a great experience. I have been meaning to read her for years. Instead of starting with her first book, I read what I had on my bookshelves.
Dawn is the first in a series she wrote in the late 1980s. The series was originally called the Xenogenisis Trilogy but at some point became called Lilith's Brood.
Lilith Iyapo awakens in a dim room, alone. She has awoken there before on a solid platform that seems to grow from the floor. She does not know where she is, only that she is still confined. This time she finds an alien creature in the room with her. She is completely repulsed by it and frightened out of what wits remain to her.
Gradually Lilith and the reader learn she is on an alien spaceship. There had been a nuclear war on Earth that nearly destroyed all humans. The Oankali are powerful beings who plan to rescue the dying planet by merging genetically with the few humans they recovered.
Lilith is an amazing character, a Black woman from somewhere in the Andes who was attending college when the apocalypse occurred. Now it is centuries later, Earth has become habitable again and the Oankali are wakening the humans. They make Lilith the leader of other earthlings on the ship. What an unruly bunch they are, who test Lilith every step of the way. She is tasked with training them to survive in a feral rain forest where they will live when they are sent back.
Each character, whether human or alien, is fully developed and the conflicts between them make for gripping reading. The humans are as diverse as anything we are dealing with in the present. The Oankali also have their issues. Butler's world-building is beyond impressive though she never lets it overwhelm the story.
I was put in mind of N K Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy many times as I read. Octavia Butler was the first Black female science fiction writer to win recognition. I would bet she inspired Jemisin. Now I plan to read all of her books, soon!
i've read a lot of sci fi but most of it dated... OB has a great rep and i plan on reading her soon, i hope... just from your post, she sounds a bit like Ursula LeGuin...
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought so too and I think she was inspired by Ursula LeGuin. Butler was born in 1947, Ursula in 1929, so about a generation apart. Butler grew up reading sci fi and noticed that everyone was white so she did her thing to add reality to the picture. Cause that is what our generation did, right? But LeGuin was an inspiration to many of us.
DeleteOh, I LOVE UKleG SO MUCH. 'The Dispossessed' is probably one of the most influential books I've read and one of the few I've read on multiple occasions.... You know... I might just read it again... because I can.
DeleteIt has been a long time since I read Butler I have not read this. I think that I will delve deep into her work again soon. This series might the be a good one to start with.
ReplyDeleteI do remember it being true if the books that I read, all of her characters are well developed.
I am so glad I finally began to read Butler. She is a wonderful writer.
DeleteI can barely imagine having the kind of creative mind that come up with a plot like this! I am happy when I can string together a few lines of acceptable prose!
ReplyDeleteDavid, I know. Then again I can't imagine knowing as much about birds and plants as you do!
DeleteWow, this sounds like something I'd highly enjoy! Thanks for pointing it out, your review really made me curious.
ReplyDeleteI read some Ms Butler a LONG time ago and was seriously impressed. It was *possibly* Clay's Ark but I can't be sure.
ReplyDeleteIf it was Clay's Ark, that is the fifth and final book in her Patternist series. I am seriously glad to know that you have read her!
DeleteThis sounds amazing! It's going on my TBR for sure!!!
ReplyDeleteYay! Get ready for a wild time.
DeleteI too would like to read my first Octavia book this year: Kindred or Dawn. I'm not usually a sci-fi reader but she is an author much talked about. Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteKindred is, I think historical fiction, so maybe start there?
DeleteThe only book I've read by Butler is Kindred, which I remember loving. This one sounds very different, but I would like to try it one day.
ReplyDeleteYes, Helen, I would think you did love that one. It was her only historical novel. At least I think that is right. The rest are futuristic.
DeleteI've read a few of Butler's books but not this one. Now I definitely will!
ReplyDeleteSeems like I gave Octavia a boost here today!
DeleteI wish we could have a chat about The Starless Sea. I loved it, although not as much as The Night Circus, but I came away feeling a little befuddled. The plot ended up not being as important to me as the mood she created. I would love to pick up a Star from a folded piece of paper, or grab a key from that garden, or swim in that honey.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think of Flights? I loved that, too.
Great review! I read my very 1st Octavia Butler novel earlier this year as well and blown away by her writing as well. I look forward to reading more novels by Octavia Butler.
ReplyDeleteI remember your review. It got me to take this book off my shelf and finally read it. So thank you!
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