"Dawn" by Octavia Butler

Dawn is the first installment in Octavia Butler’s trilogy called Lilith's Brood or Xenogenesis.  I loved Butler’s Kindred which I read earlier this year so I was excited to read another book by this author.  Dawn takes place on an alien ship that is orbiting the earth. Humans had almost completely wiped themselves out in a nuclear war and made the planet unlivable. Human survivors were picked up by an alien species called Oankali whose own continued existence depends on genetic renewal accomplished through mixing with other species. Oankali have kept humans in a state of suspended animation for hundreds of years while they learned about them and let the earth restore itself after the nuclear disaster. Lilith is chosen to be the one to lead human resettlement of the earth and is awakened to bond with the Oankali and to learn from them.

Octavia Butler is an amazingly talented writer. She is the master of character building. Even though the novel is fairly short at 250 pages, I really felt like I got to know Lilith.  I felt her fear, insecurities and hopes. However, the story itself turned out to be not quite my cup of tea. Even though it was clear from the very beginning that the Oankali wanted to somehow mix with the humans, the whole angle with the way the Ooloi sensual arms were used on human couples just made me want to gag. I really had no sympathy for the aliens and felt like they took advantage of the few remaining humans and methodically worked towards their own end. Needless to say, I will not be continuing with the trilogy simply because I find descriptions of the interbreeding process too unsettling and the story not compelling enough at this point. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. What started out with a bang ended with a grimace of disgust.