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    Dawn
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    Dawn
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    Dawn
    Ebook353 pages5 hours

    Dawn

    By Octavia E. Butler

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    An alien race calls on one woman to revive mankind after Earth’s apocalypse in this science fiction classic from the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower.
     Lilith Iyapo has just lost her husband and son when atomic fire consumes Earth—the last stage of the planet’s final war. Hundreds of years later Lilith awakes, deep in the hold of a massive alien spacecraft piloted by the Oankali—who arrived just in time to save humanity from extinction. They have kept Lilith and other survivors asleep for centuries, as they learned whatever they could about Earth. Now it is time for Lilith to lead them back to her home world, but life among the Oankali on the newly resettled planet will be nothing like it was before. The Oankali survive by genetically merging with primitive civilizations—whether their new hosts like it or not. For the first time since the nuclear holocaust, Earth will be inhabited. Grass will grow, animals will run, and people will learn to survive the planet’s untamed wilderness. But their children will not be human. Not exactly.

    Featuring strong and compelling characters and exploring complex themes of gender and species, Octavia E. Butler presents a powerful, postapocalyptic interplanetary epic, as well as a ray of hope for humanity. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author’s estate. 
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateJul 24, 2012
    ISBN9781453263679
    Unavailable
    Dawn
    Author

    Octavia E. Butler

    Octavia E. Butler (1947–2006) was a renowned African American author of several award-winning novels, including Parable of the Sower, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1993, and Parable of the Talents, winner of the Nebula Award for the best science fiction novel in 1995. She received a MacArthur Genius Grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work and was acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from the distant past to the far future.

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    Reviews for Dawn

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    • 4/5
      When humanity destroys itself with nuclear bombs, a very alien species steps forward to save the human race. But help comes with a price.I generally don't re-read books; however, this science fiction novel by my favorite sci-fi author has been on my mind lately. I was happy to find that I love the book just as much now as I did twenty years ago.Unlike some sci-fi authors, Butler connects with the readers emotionally and not just intellectually. Her alien civilization is fascinating, but so are her human characters. Lilith, the main character in the story, struggles with her loyalties. Should she fight against the alien 'captors' and align herself with aggressive humans, or should she turn her back on humankind and accept the aliens' proposed deal? It was one of those books that I find myself asking over and over again, what would I do in the same situation.One thing that bothered me, though (and bothered me the first time I read the book as well) was that Lilith's character was too hard and assertive. She did have a softer side, but she was so wrapped up in her dilemma that she had no sense of humor. Also, I would have thought that at least one of the remaining humans would have accepted the aliens. From time to time, I got a little annoyed with Lilith and the other humans. Also, the book ended very abruptly (although, I understand it is the first book of a trilogy.)For readers who are interested in Star Trek type alien civilizations, this is an outstanding read. I'm very glad that I returned to it after so many years. Butler is an amazingly creative and talented writer.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      first read somewhere in 1991 or 2 or 3, 5 stars then, and still amazingly powerful now.

      when i first read this at 14 or 15 or so, it was more than a little transgressive. it was sort of about sex, in a way that felt very frank and intimate (voyeuristic?). it's still sort of about sex, but maybe more about permission and choice and alienation (both literal and figurative). 'Dawn' is an uncomfortable book. at its heart, it's about choices that are no choice at all - if you want to live, you must choose to do so under an unlivable compromise of yourself. there are no easy answers, there's only a struggle to do the best you can while not giving away any essential parts of yourself. the main character is intensely real, full of flesh-and-blood energy, deeply relatable though you will never find yourself completely in her situation.

      the blurb on the back of my 1980something copy makes it sound more salaciously pulp than it actually is, and my blurb here makes it sound more coldly intellectual than it actually is, so ignore us both. it's a provoking thought experiment that's simultaneously a gripping yarn, well worth snapping up.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The Xenogenesis trilogy is reminiscent of Stranger in a Strange Land and Octavia Butler is a writer of the same calibur as Robert Heinlein. Her writing is complex, fully fleshed out and engrossing. I cared about the characters, was sometimes disturbed by the story, and completely sucked into her world. I read this Trilogy in a couple of days. Mankind brought itself to the edge of extinction with nuclear holocaust. It is at this moment that the Oankali, an alien race, decide to make contact to help us. When Lilith Iyapo is "awakened," she finds that she has been chosen to revive her fellow humans in small groups & train them to survive in the wilderness that earth has become. But the aliens cannot help humanity without altering it forever. Our salvation may also be our destruction. Excellent!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This is exceptional science fiction. Humanity has caused destruction on Earth. We don't see that story, but some humans have been saved by aliens and are on a ship. The characterization of them is rich and various. The aliens are not made to be human-like. We get to know one of them very well as it interacts with the main character. This alien is terrifying to the characters, but not terrifying to me the reader. There were constant questions and surprises for me throughout the story. I found it to be one of the most creative and engrossing books I've read. At the end I was glad that I'd bought the whole series as I loaded the second book on my e-reader.

      If you like science fiction you will not want to miss this unless you only like the kind where there are battleships blasting away in space. There is no spaceship war in this.
    • 5/5
      This book was amazing. I am so glad that I stumbled upon this series for my modern and contemporary course. Well worth anyone's times and I would highly recommend. It truly grasps the parallels of what the world wars created in the ideas about modernism and the decline of humanity.
    • 4/5
      synopsis:Lilith finds herself being held (captive?) by a group of beings who call themselves the Oankali. Man has destroyed itself, having caused a nuclear winter after bombing themselves into oblivion. Only having a few hundred humans left, the Oankali took it upon themselves to attempt to preserve the human race. Lilith was chosen to be an ambassador of the Oankali to the humans still in suspended animation and leader among them as they are eventually sent back to earth to repopulate it along side the Oankali. But this is not without cost to mankind...Review:So I hate the name Lilith... I don't know why, but I do and that was a constant thorn in my side seeing as that is the name of the protagonist. That aside, I think the author did a fantastic job of giving the aliens their own culture and unique way of thinking that was different enough and still believable. I thought that story line (since it was initially a trilogy and I understand that many other books within this universe have been written) was crafted well enough to convince me to read the second book and see where she takes it. I feel like this is one of those books that is on the fence to me and depending on how book two goes could really reel me in and make me a fan or totally put me off to the rest of the series.
    • 4/5
      Not really my sf genre but was surprisingly good...
    • 4/5
      Rating: Interesting, well writtenI'd have liked this take on alien abduction far better if the ending had actually been an ending, instead it seemed abrupt and unsatisfying, rather just a chapter ending to the next book.The aliens were sufficiently different and hard to understand so there was definitely that strength. The protagonist was torn between willingness to cooperate and wish to be free of the manipulation. And what was truth and what was not was a decided addition to the whole plot line.
    • 4/5
      Humanity has all but managed to wipe itself out and do almost irreparable damage to Earth in the process. Lilith is one of only a few people that have managed to survive. She is revived to find herself in a featureless cell where a disembodied voice asks her questions and is less than forthcoming with answers to any asked by Lilith. It is only when her saviours/captors seem to become satisfied with her response that Lilith finds out what her current situation entails. She has been chosen by a race of aliens (the Oankali) to help return mankind to a revived Earth but there will be a price to pay by way of a trade. Will the cost be too high to save what is left of humanity and is it even worth saving?This is the first in the Xenogenesis trilogy and also the first of the author's work that I've read. I think I've been missing out. While this is in essence a first contact novel it explores much of the nature of humanity and often delves into its darker aspects. While this is not a difficult book to read it does touch upon some disturbing concerns and offers much to ponder so in this respect is extremely well written. The world-building and charecterisation of the main characters are also very well handled but their isn't too much depth to secondary characters but that doesn't detract much from the overall effect of the book. The series is off to a very good beginning and although I'm not jumping straight into the second book it won't be too long before I do.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. It is a real page-turner. I found the situation to be surprising and unpredictable. The author is incredibly inventive. The book reminds me of classic sci-fi, fantastical and groundbreaking, and yet it also explores interesting issues regarding difference and sexuality. The writing itself is not particularly rich stylistically, but it serves its purpose. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      This was my first Octavia Butler novel and, damn, it puts a lot of fiction to shame. I don't mean just science fiction; Butler deals with intense emotional issues on a human level that lend depth and a supra-genre importance to Dawn.

      Finally, a novel with a strong female protagonist.

      Lilith is front and center, one of the few to survive the destruction of Earth by war mongering humans. The human race has been saved by an alien species who specialize in trade and what they want in return for their actions might damn humanity in a fresh and frightening way.

      I will definitely be reading more in this series and of Butler in general.
    • 3/5
      I only occasionally read Science Fiction or Fantasy novels. I enjoyed Butler's Kindred, so picked up Dawn at the local Paperback Book Exchange. Published in 1987, Dawn remains decently credible within its genre. Set 250 years after nuclear apocalypse (US vs. Russia) on Earth. Lilith, a somewhat modified & enhanced human, is Awakened by her captors/ rescuers to find herself on an organic spaceship/world inhabited by an intelligent three-gender species of "extraterrestrials" (their own world is long gone)called the Oankali. The Oankali practice sophisticated genetic engineering, or what they call trade with other species. They intend to "improve" both their own species and that of homo sapiens through gene manipulation and hybridized breeding. Lilith's assignment is to awaken 40 other human beings from among those in storage on the ship (the saved remnants of human civilization on earth). She, once she herself has been trained to survive on a new, wild Earth,& once she has been imbued with added strength, endurance, memory & self-healing power, is to prepare this group of re-colonizers to survive somewhere in the Amazon basin. She is to be their leader/teacher. However, things don't proceed exactly as planned. The humans awaken with all their hierarchical, competitive and murderous capacities intact. Dawn in many ways reads as up-to-date because of its consideration of issues such as individual versus group identity and survival; species boundaries; captivity versus freedom; surveillance versus right to privacy; reproductive freedom (control over one's own body)etc.
    • 3/5
      I read this for the first contact category in my SF Reading Challenge.

      Centuries after a nuclear war destroys civilization on Earth, the main character, Lilith Iyapo, awakes to discover that she is held captive aboard a starship. Her captors, the Oankali, have rescued the remaining humans and restored Earth. However, this rescue was not without a catch -- these hideously grotesque aliens survive by merging genetically with primitive peoples.

      The basic question is if the surviving humans should "mate" with the aliens in order to continue a form of human species on Earth or let the human race die out through a "clean" death.

      This book would also satisfy the non-caucasian category and probably social SF. The Oankali ship is multi-generational for their species although the humans are in suspended animation for most of their time on the ship.

      This book is the first in the Xenogenesis series.
    • 4/5
      This is one of those books that makes you think, as good science fiction does. I found myself happy, angry, frustrated, and contemplative about this read. It is worth checking out.
    • 5/5
      I was awake until about four this morning listening to this book. I had to learn the fate of Lilith and the other humans. And...that is exactly what anyone who reads this book will learn. The fate of humans.
      Lilith awakens after many years to learn that she is captive/guest on an alien ship orbiting earth. We, humankind, had gone to war and essentially killed off ourselves and destroyed our Earth making it uninhabitable. The Oankali, an alien race, has come to our rescue, so to speak. They have salvaged as many humans as possible, cured our diseases and restrengthened the dead world with the hopes of making it livable for humans again. The price, or in Oankali terminology, the trade for their help is one that most would find reprehensible as it would ultimately mean the eventual end of humans as we now know them. It would mean co-mingling dna with them, giving rise/birth to a new distinct life form, not wholly human and not wholly Oankali.
      Dawn poses one central, important, and highly provocative question, at least for me as this is something that I always think about. What does it mean to be human? Is it our species alone without regard to any other characteristic? Is it our behavior, regardless of our form or the state of our dna?
      Much of what happens in the book is frightening but not due to violence or highly intense moments, of which there are many, but due to (for me at least) a fear of what the humans would do. I was on edge throughout this entire book due to my concern that humanity would fail to be humane. This book challenges the gentle and forgetful lie we often tell ourselves because we can, and because life for us is essentially easy and "civil" and organized with strict laws in place to govern our behaviors and actions.
      In most ways I believe myself an optimist, a glass half full type of person, except on the issue of my faith in humanity. Personally, I have little faith in humanity's overall ability to maintain the less corporeal of human traits when challenged with true difficulty. We have a difficult enough time doing it now.
      Dawn was a smart, frightening, challenging, spiritual, addictive read. I don't know what took me so long to read it, but I intend to move on to the next book in this series. How could I not? I wish to see humanity prove me wrong.
    • 5/5
      Great book! It made me go out to get the rest of the series. I also looked up everything by Octavia Butler. I couldn't believe that I hadn't heard of her before now.
    • 5/5
      Another special book by Octavia Butler. Very good, if at times uncomfortable to read. Lilith experiences so many frustrating situations and has to face such obstacles in order to show just a little defiance to her captors, that it gets to you at times. I thought the writing style was quite matter-of-fact, as I'm used to from Octavia Butler, which I like in particular for this kind of story (throw a person into weird circumstances, and then figure out what would happen).
    • 4/5
      So many consent issues... (After finishing this, I actually got a dream in which I was hurriedly writing out a note, and getting witnesses to sign it, to say that I absolutely did not want to marry, partner with, or have sex with [random character in the dream] and if he somehow got me to do any of these things it would nevertheless be absolutely against my will and without my consent and therefore any such marriage would be invalid.)

      Very good: it's got the claustrophobia, the every-exit-is-a-deadend feel, that I'd normally associate with horror, but manages to retain an optimism about it. The aliens are convincinly alien, and the frustration of their refusal to listen is steadfast without becoming unbelievable.
    • 4/5
      Lilith has lost her son and husband when atomic was devastates Earth as we know it. Oankli, an alien species, have come just in time to save the last of the human race.m the aliens have studied the earthlings for centuries as they try to repair what they can of Earth. The Olankli have chosen Lilith to lead a group of humans back to Earth. There is a price: To survive, the Olankli genetically merge with primitive civilizations.
    • 5/5
      This was an insanely good read, what I would call a page turner. I loved the beginning and the end of it, which was very intense and I even cried a little. I must say Butler has a very active imagination and she is not afraid to use it.

      It's the first book of Butler's I've ever read and this is what I find on the last pages:

      In 1995 Octavia E. Butler was awarded a McArthur Grant. In what is popularly called the genius program, the John D. Catherine T. McArthur Foundation rewards creative people who push the boundaries of their fields.

      What more can I say? As most people, you will either love it or feel disturbed by it. And most people that have read the second part say it is even better. It is really difficult to believe that something can be better than dawn. And it is a book worth rereading.


    • 5/5
      I have never read any Science Fiction books. Believe it or not, I have never watched Star Trek. I owe Octavia Butler a thank you. Because of Dawn I now have an interest in Fantasy and Science Fiction. From the very first sentences, Dawn by Octavia Butler is impossible to stop reading. As I read her novel, many themes entered my mind. The main character is Lilith. Lilith's life made me think of change and readjustment to new ideas, places and people, in this case th aliens known as Olinka. Lilith quickly becomes a portrayal of a strong woman.She is definitely a survivor.Lilith never slides into self pity. Due to war, her husband and son are dead. She finds herself under the control of strange slimy creatures likened to slugs. After a deep sleep, she wakes up. She acquiesces to their learning process. Her old way of life must be forgotten. If Lilith is obedient to the wishes of the aliens, she will become the first leader on the new earth. Leadership on this future earth will give Lilith the ability to teach and train other captured earthlings.However, change is never easy. Lilith will become the enemy of her own kind. Every day a choice must be made. Should she succumb to the thoughts of the rebellious earthlings or remain on course believing there is a chance to make something close to the planet where she once lived with family. If she kowtows to the rebellious earthlings, she will never see a revitalized Planet earth. Her decisions are difficult. I really felt sorry for Lilith when she had to fight off an overly sexed earthling. Starved for sexual intimacy, He falls upon Lilith like a giant rig out of control. He injures her body and mind. Still, Lilith does not give up.Lilith is a Hebrew name. In Jewish Folklore, Lilith is thought of as the first wife of Adam. Octavia Butler's Lilith is a symbol of the Jewish Lilith. Butler's Lilith is the first human to experience the new order on earth. Like Adam/Eve, she is the first to experience a type of the Garden of Eden. This new earth, like the Garden of Eden, is a forest. A forest that needs to be tamed for the growth of food and also, for the growth of future families.Science Fiction is entertaining and also meaningful literature. Science Fiction gives the reader the chance to think outside of the box about a new normal. Like Poetry, it jerks the mind. I am looking forward to traveling into another Science Fiction novel.
    • 4/5
      This was a re read. I had already read this in the omnibus volume Lilith's Brood. Re read it for a book club discussion and it was still terrific and provided lots of content for a good meaty discussion.
    • 3/5
      This book was written in 1988 and feels dated, but is still interesting. There was a nuclear war, followed by a nuclear winter, and some people are waking up in blank, featureless rooms where a voice from up above asks them questions. Are they mad? Is it real? After a time, it is revealed that they have been rescued by aliens, the Oankali, who have 3 sexes, male, female and the genetic modifier ooloi who are sexless but essential for conception to take place. They Oankali are traders, who trade genetic information with the species they interact with, changing and being changed... will they change the humans beyond recognition? It had some really interesting questions and observations but not that spine tingling cleverness of say Elizabeth Bear's Carnival. It did give a good portrayal of the aliens but the sex life stuff was confusing and the mating between humans confusing too... I think it probably gave idea to many books that have followed, but because I've read the other books first, this original felt oddly flat. I will read the next in the series because I am interested in the aliens Butler has created.
    • 4/5
      Dawn is a rather simple book. At least the writing is but the simplicity in the writing magnifies the talent of Butler. As someone who normally would never normally read a book catogorized as science fiction, the fact that Butler was able to trap my attention and make the story more about space aliens and a destroyed earth, shows her talent.Dawn is more than a story about the Oankali preparing humans to return to other in order to procreate a new species but more about what it means to be human and the vastness of human experience and personality. When the story first opens the reader learn that the Oankali have chosen Lilith to train other humans and prepare for the return to Earth. The illusion of the given that Lilith is chosen because of her strength. But as the story progress one thinks that maybe Lilith is chosen because she is easily manipulated and take things at face value.The beauty about the characters in Dawn is that readers do not become connected with them but see them as players in a movie. As a detached the reader is able to pick out bits and pieces of themselves from each character and question how would they act in the same situation.Butler not only questions human nature but she also question how we function in society. Earth was destroyed by a nuclear war, when the story was written in the 1980's the US's major advisory was the Russia. The conflict transcends the eighties and is prevalent for issues the world face today (replace Russia with North Korea or Iran or both).Human beings are more alike than different-dame sure more alike than we like to admit. I wonder if the same thing wouldn't have happened eventually, no matter which two cultures gained the ability to wipe one another out along with the rest of the world. pg. 133There is no real conclusion in this book but Butler ends the first book and prepares the reader for the next one.Pros: Writing, Character, QuestionCons: None
    • 4/5
      One of my favorite science fiction authors. Her books feature dystopian futures with hopeful veins shot through them. This is the first of the xenogenesis series (a trilogy) about humans becoming a new species by blending with the Oankali (a peaceful space faring people) and the predictable xenophobia that results.
    • 5/5
      This was a very compelling read. The storyline is fairly simple, but offers several new twists on a fairly old idea. In a post nuclear holocaust world, a race of aliens pick up a small cadre of survivors, puts them into suspended animation on a giant space ship, and starts working on both rehabilitating earth and understanding humanity. The catch: these aliens are a race of genetic "traders." Their way of life is to swap genes with other races they encounter and evolve into a new merged species different (and better) than either contributing group. The protagonist Lilith is a very simpathetic and convincingly drawn character. Butler does a great job of capturing her initial disorientation and later ambivalence as she comes to understand what has happened to her and what she is going to be asked to do next. The aliens look at humanity as a race that is genetically doomed to destroy itself (and indeed the behavior of the reawakened humans seems to prove that they are right). They want to save us by changing us. The humans, on the other hand, want to preserve their humanity and start over. They see the aliens as captors and executioners of the human race. Sex, gender and control of procreation are central themes of the book, addressed in original and thought provoking ways.
    • 4/5
      So this is the first in a sci-fi trilogy written 20 years ago. Once again, like -Survivor- this story comes with a very interesting alien race, though this one is much more alien being plant based as far as I can tell and having 3 genders. And so again I was reminded of Card's -Speaker for the Dead-.The story holds up to time well, probably because as with other Butler sci-fi novels, advanced technology is (mysteriously?) absent. Also similar to her other novels the environment is harsh and the lead character is a female that suffers throughout. At this point I wouldn't say I'm getting bored of her writing but I would like to read something "different" from her. I've got 5 more novels of hers to read but 2 of them are the continuation of this series so I guess I'll find out over the next couple months.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book! It was full of very interesting ideas. I was totally absorbed by it.
    • 4/5
      Truly "alien" aliens and a struggle to retain humanity, while having to change for survival.
    • 3/5
      It was intriguing and interesting. I read through eagerly to come to some sort of resolution only to be left hanging unsatisfied with a to be continued on to the next book. If it really resolved itself better at the end I might read the other following books but I'm just not interested. So I leave the story here to never know what becomes of main character.