Mar 31, 2013

Dawn

by Octavia Butler

This is some very interesting science fiction. I admit I was first drawn to Octavia Butler's works because I loved the cover images; John Jude Palencar is one of my favorite illustrators. Dawn is a futuristic novel in which the human race has been nearly destroyed and rescued by aliens. The aliens saved them from catastrophe and are ready to return them to a restored Earth, but is the cost worth it? The aliens engage in a form of genetic "trading" with other species as a way to advance themselves. So they are saving humankind by transforming them into something else. The protagonist wakes after centuries of forced sleep and finds herself assigned a leader of the humans preparing to return to Earth. There's all sorts of conflicts going on, not the least of which is most of the characters' discontent with what the aliens have done to them. I found the story really intriguing but the characters rather unlikable. Maybe their unpleasant nature was part of the genetic change they had undergone, I'm not sure. Regardless, it is a book I'd like to read again someday.

Rating: 3/5 ....... 256 pages, 1987

more opinions:
Adventures in Reading
Twisted SciFi
Diverse Pages
Zubon Book Reviews

4 comments:

  1. This is one Butler that I have not read. She often writes about humans at the edge of humanity, if you know what I mean. This produces a lot of unlikeable characters and some very interesting ideas. Some scary ideas, too.

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  2. This is probably not for me. Happy Easter!

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  3. I have a tough time with books that have characters that are all so rough or unlikeable. I haven't read anything by Butler but I would like to one day! Do you have a favorite by her?

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  4. I've actually only read a few of her books- I think the one I liked best was Parable of the Sower.

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