Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

I’ll admit it: The plot to Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn sounds like a sci-fi adult movie that would play on Showtime at 2am. Earth and humanity have been all but snuffed out and the remaining humans were rescued by an alien race, only to learn their saviors demand a “trade” in return: To procreate with the aliens and create a hybrid species. *Cue the sexy saxophone music* I may have written it off as such and gone about my merry way if I didn’t know that Butler is a Nebula- and Hugo-Award-winning author. As it was, I went into Dawn with the expectation of having my preconceived notions wrecked and my mind blown—and it came close.

Our fearless hero is Lilith, a strong-willed but open-minded 20-something who spent the last 200+ years in and out of suspended sleep. More than once she “Awoke” in a variation of an inescapable plain room with little to no furniture, occasionally no bathroom, often no clothing, and no interaction beyond a disembodied voice demanding she answer questions but offering no explanations in kind. Eventually she is introduced to the alien race of Oankali, who explain that they witnessed Earth “commit mass suicide” (via a world war-induced nuclear winter). They chose to interfere by rebuilding the planet while keeping any surviving humans alive and preserved until Earth was once more inhabitable and humans could carry out the “trade” agreement that would secure the survival of their species.

The way in which this is presented and Lilith’s reaction brook no argument that this book is no harlequin romance in space—it’s an evolutionary tug-of-war. We join Lilith on her journey as she learns the ways of the Oankali, joins a family where a genderless “Ooloi” named Nikanj bonds to her while they teach one another about their culture, and as she learns her role is to “Awaken” other humans so she can prepare them not just for returning to an Earth nuked back to the stone age, but to accept the Oankali and their part in the trade. 

This is where I’ll leave the remainder of the story to the author and share the Good and the Bad of Dawn.

The Good:

-Lilith’s realistic POV: In so many “fantasy” books, we’re treated to infuriating puzzles and incomprehensible references and colloquialisms in place of dialogue. The authors make it our job to put the pieces together. I like how Butler gave Lilith the same thoughts, questions, and qualms as the average Joe. I never felt like I was playing catch-up, but rather like I was on the same level she was.

-A refreshing take on aliens: Whether due to lack of imagination or sheer laziness, it seems there are two ways we believe an alien species would look and act: Either exactly the same as humans, or so foreign and confusing that understanding and coexisting with them is unimaginable. Butler made the Oankali the sweet spot of a 60/40 mix. At first blush, they look similar enough, until you realize their entire bodies are covered in sensory tentacles, not skin, eyes, hair, or ears. They speak our language(s), but as a foreign language of which many are not adept, or choose not to learn. They’re alike enough to be tangible, but alien enough to be wary of. 

-The realistic (yet depressing) depiction of human behavior: While Lilith may be our open-minded protagonist, we do eventually meet more humans. The instant distrust of and continual attempts to undermine and hurt Lilith because she has a connection with the Oankali and has been given privileges as the liaison feels disheartening and yet eventual all the same. It’s a testament to and a condemnation of the human condition that Butler knew all too well—even in times of near-extinction.

The Bad:

-The time jump: When we meet Lilith, she has already been “Awaked” multiple times, and our introduction to her was the last. We stay with her as she meets her first Oankali, explores the ship, meets her family, seeks out other “Awake” humans and begins to learn about the culture and what is asked of her. Then there is an abrupt time jump to one year later. She is fluent in the language, has a sexual relationship with Nikanj (which bothered me a lot, since they were childlike when Lilith met them), and has already trained in a jungle simulation for months to prepare her to lead the other humans when they return to Earth. I was disappointed that we missed so many important things and she became a stranger to us—the Lilith the newly “Awakened” humans meet is not the Lilith we met.

-The rape culture disguised as primal attraction: When Lilith meets another “Awake” human at the start of her time on the ship, the first thing he tries to do is rape her, and then beats her mercilessly when she resists. The Oankali justify it as the natural reaction of two humans meeting. I would be more forgiving of their ignorance if they, too, didn’t prescribe to rape masquerading as shameful attraction. They act as though the humans don’t want to admit they want to have sex, so they manipulate their bodies while insisting they really did want it all along, as Nikanj did to Lilith’s companion, Joseph:

Nikanj: “You see. Your body has made a different choice.”
Joseph: “Why didn’t you…just do it?”
Nikanj: “I told you. This time you can choose.”
Joseph: “I’ve chosen! You ignored me.”
Nikanj: “Your body said one thing. Your words said another.”

Joseph then says no again and struggles to be released until “…he was ready to accept what he wanted from beginning.” If that doesn’t sound like Date Rape 101, I don’t know what is.

-It often felt like a chore to read: While I can say this book had an interesting, fresh story to tell and was well-written, I never sought out extra time to read it. It felt more like an obligation than a pleasure. I don’t intend on finishing the series, but would be interested to see how a series/movie adaptation is handled.

TL;DR: If you’re on the hunt for a protagonist you can root for in a realistic and unique departure from the same ol’ alien story you’ve read a thousand time, Dawn is up to the challenge. If you’re experiencing fatigue from rape-culture and the human condition, you may not want to stay Awake for this trade.