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Octavia E. Butler
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Dawn (Xenogenesis, Bk. 1) Paperback – April 1, 1997

by Octavia Butler (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 4,906 ratings
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One woman is called upon to rebuild the future of humankind after a nuclear war, in this revelatory post-apocalyptic tale from the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower.

When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali—a seemingly benevolent alien race—intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then putting them into a deep sleep. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth—but salvation comes at a price.

Hopeful and thought-provoking, this post-apocalyptic narrative deftly explores gender and race through the eyes of characters struggling to adapt during a pivotal time of crisis and change.
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Xenogenesis Trilogy
  2. Print length
    258 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 1997
  5. Dimensions
    4 x 0.75 x 6.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0446603775
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0446603775
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In a world devastated by nuclear war with humanity on the edge of extinction, aliens finally make contact. They rescue those humans they can, keeping most survivors in suspended animation while the aliens begin the slow process of rehabilitating the planet. When Lilith Iyapo is "awakened," she finds that she has been chosen to revive her fellow humans in small groups by first preparing them to meet the utterly terrifying aliens, then training them to survive on the wilderness that the planet has become. But the aliens cannot help humanity without altering it forever. Bonded to the aliens in ways no human has ever known, Lilith tries to fight them even as her own species comes to fear and loathe her. A stunning story of invasion and alien contact by one of science fiction's finest writers.

About the Author

OCTAVIA E. BUTLER was a renowned writer who received a MacArthur "Genius" Grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. She was the author of several award-winning novels including Parable of the Sower, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and was acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from the distant past to the far future. Sales of her books have increased enormously since her death as the issues she addressed in her Afrofuturistic, feminist novels and short fiction have only become more relevant. She passed away on February 24, 2006.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aspect; Reprint edition (April 1, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 258 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446603775
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446603775
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4 x 0.75 x 6.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 4,906 ratings

About the author

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Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler

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OCTAVIA E. BUTLER (1947–2006) was the renowned author of numerous ground-breaking novels, including Kindred, Wild Seed, and Parable of the Sower. Recipient of the Locus, Hugo and Nebula awards, and a PEN Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work, in 1995 she became the first science- fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship ‘Genius Grant’. A pioneer of her genre, Octavia’s dystopian novels explore myriad themes of Black injustice, women’s rights, global warming and political disparity, and her work is taught in over two hundred colleges and universities nationwide.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
4,906 global ratings
Surviving A Strange, New World
5 Stars
Surviving A Strange, New World
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.
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Top reviews from the United States

Kai
5.0 out of 5 stars Eerily amazing!
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2023
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For some reason, I always find it hard to write reviews about books that I absolutely love. It’s like all my comprehension and analytical skills go out the window and my brain blanks on what to say. It’s annoying because there are so many things I love about this book.

Lilith's relationship with the aliens, the Oankali, is very complex. The Oankali are a highly intricate and multifaceted species, yet their actions towards Lilith and the other survivors are deplorable. It was so disturbing and it left me feeling super uncomfortable.

This book also delves into these present and underlying ideas of consent, xenophobia, racism, gender, misogyny, religion, and slavery. For instance, Lilith’s relationship with the Oankali, at times mirrored the relationship between an enslaved person and their owner. And also, the ways in which the Oankali treated the surviving humans. The straight-up oppression, lack of consent, and cultural erasure are reminiscent of slavery. The way Octavia Butler weaves these ideas into this story is just so masterful. Her skillful use of imagery and symbolism brings these complex themes to life and it was so engaging to read.

There’s so much more that I want to say but I don’t think I have to bandwidth to put it into words. This book is thought-provoking, disturbing, powerful, provocative, and so much more. 5⭐️
7 people found this helpful
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Nick Wisseman (author)
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting But Unsettling
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2022
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Enthralling, dawning horror. That’s probably the best way to describe my evolving response while reading Octavia Butler’s Dawn—an emotional journey that shares much in common with the experience of Lilith, the book’s protagonist.

The story begins when she’s awakened from stasis by Oankali, aliens who rescued her and a handful of other survivors after a nuclear holocaust ravaged the Earth. While these “lucky” few slept, the Oankali spent the intervening centuries restoring the planet and readying it for humanity’s return. Lilith is tapped to lead the first wave.

But the Oankali aren’t acting solely out of the goodness of their hearts (or whatever organs function as the metaphorical equivalent in their bizarre, many-tentacled bodies). Salvation comes at a price. And the cost is genetic.

Much of this is fascinating. For one thing, the worldbuilding is particularly well done. We only get the broad strokes of the conflict between the United States and Russia that precipitated intergalactic intervention. But that’s all we need—Butler devotes most of her exposition to slowly revealing the Oankali’s biology and culture. We learn about their lifecycle, from puberty to adulthood. We see how they form triads rather than couples, with gender-neutral ooloi forming the link between male and female. And we glimpse the differences between their broad peoples—Dinso, Toaht, and Akjai—in a way that hints at even greater distinctions.

The Oankali are also technologically advanced but in organic fashion. They grew their ship. They replicate organisms and objects from “prints” of each entity’s molecular makeup. They store their subjects in Venus flytrap-like plants that sustain them in hibernation. And, as Lilith explains to some of the humans she’s charged with leading, the Oankali “manipulate DNA as naturally as we manipulate pencils and paintbrushes.”

This is the entry point for one of Dawn’s many unsettling aspects. Lilith notes more than once that she feels like a lab rat caught up in a captive breeding program. “We used to treat animals that way,” she tells one of her Oankali handlers. “We did things to them—inoculations, surgery, isolation—all for their own good. We wanted them healthy and protected—sometimes so we could eat them later.” But the Oankali (the ooloi especially) aren’t interested in that form of consumption. They see “great potential” in humanity’s various mutations. It’s an uncomfortable turning of the tables. And while Butler never really gets into intra-species racial dynamics, it’s hard not to think about historical parallels like the abominable Tuskegee Study.

This theme of coercive experimentation carries over to sex. The rapes attempted by other humans in the book are the familiar sort of terrible. (In Dawn, terrestrial tensions and barbarity don’t improve when the constraints of civilization are stripped away.) But the chemical and neurological manipulation the ooloi use to tempt and control their patients corrodes consent in a different, more insidious way.

Ultimately, though, Dawn comes down to a classic sci-fi quandary: What does it mean to be human? It can’t simply be a question of genetics—fluidity has always been baked into our DNA, an evolutionary malleability Butler hints at when an ooloi reverts Lilith’s physical strength back to the level of our primate forebears’. The Oankali suggest that what truly defines us is our tendency to be both intelligent and hierarchical. Yet for all their strangeness, the aliens have these traits in common. (Paternalism might be too gendered a term for the form of “we know what’s best for you” condescension they levy at Lilith and her cohort, but the attitude is uncomfortably familiar.) Some of the Oankali are even likable. And while they display feelings like love and grief differently, there’s enough overlap with the human varieties of these emotions to make you wonder where the lines of delineation are—or if they even exist.

So did I enjoy reading Dawn? Not entirely. I found it more thought-provoking than thrilling, partly because Lilith doesn’t have much agency. Her rebellious impulses never really mature into a plan; mostly, she fulfills the role the Oankali set for her, resigned to playing a “Judas goat” the majority of her fellow humans will always see as an agent of the enemy. But I won’t soon forget this book. And I intend to continue on in the series.

I just might read some lighter fare first.
44 people found this helpful
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MJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic and Creepy Book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2024
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This book looks exactly like the picture, which makes me very happy because I was looking for this specific edition.

As for the story, it's really good and creepy. Enjoy!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I love Octavia Butler!
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2024
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Best sci-fi writer out alongside Ray Bradbury. A great novel that touches on the theme of humanity and our greatest flaw. Would also recommend reading the rest of the series.
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MidwesternUS
3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted and expected more.
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2020
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I looked forward to reading Octavia Butler, given her reputation. This was the first book of hers I have read, and I wavered between 3-4 stars. Giving it 3 because I wont be reading the sequels, as I didn't find this work compelling enough. Why not? Her writing is crisp and clear, her descriptions are good enough to convey scenery, etc. well and enable really excellent worldbuilding, so where did I get lost?
Characters. Her protagonist is well drawn and fleshed out, and has flaws and personality and a point of view, which I loved. All her supporting human characters, though, are drawn so sparingly that they are more cliches than people.

MILD SPOILERS BELOW

At one point, she is literally reviewing dossiers about other humans in order to make some decisions, and the brief sketches she reads in them are the primary method for introducing these characters. Carl is exactly what he is presented as, and we never hear these supporting characters enough to really dig into their personalities, conflicts, etc. so when there is conflict. It is more like ‘character versus NPC’ than against another character. The book is so short, it would have been easy to add dimension to the supporting characters to illuminate the protagonists choices and challenges. Instead, we get a lot of eloquent internal monologue and a bare-minimum of external dialog. Some characters oppose the protagonist? Well, an NPC will tell her ‘X, Y and Z are plotting against you!’ So now the reader knows.
This is her story, but it is told with so little else in terms of other characters that we get a one-dimensional view of her and a zero-dimensional view of the other human characters. The aliens are slightly more fleshed out and there is more interaction, but I feel like Butler focused too much on the protagonists inner thoughts and ignored the opportunity to show her as a full, rounded character by giving us other more richly-drawn characters for her to bounce off of.
This book was good enough I wish it had been better.
15 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Cliente Kindle
2.0 out of 5 stars Um dos nais fracos da autora
Reviewed in Brazil on August 29, 2021
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Adoro a obra da autora, mas esse é um dos livros mais fracos dela.. uma estória confusa, um pouco entediante
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Probir Sengupta
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Science Fiction
Reviewed in India on November 9, 2023
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Ms Octavia Butler is a great author. You will enjoy the book
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Redline Revs
5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing perspective
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2023
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What does it mean to be human? How is a leader treated differently if they are black? And as a woman? Can there be humanity after a global cataclysm? Was there ever a true universal graceful humanity? Or were we always just the wretched of the Earth? These questions and more are explored through the lens of a woman held captive by extraterrestrials after humanity has through war almost made itself extinct. A gripping and refreshing book. I've ordered books 2 and 3 as soon as I finished, intrigued to see how the story pans out across the complete trilogy. Recommended.
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Redline Revs
5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing perspective
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2023
What does it mean to be human? How is a leader treated differently if they are black? And as a woman? Can there be humanity after a global cataclysm? Was there ever a true universal graceful humanity? Or were we always just the wretched of the Earth? These questions and more are explored through the lens of a woman held captive by extraterrestrials after humanity has through war almost made itself extinct. A gripping and refreshing book. I've ordered books 2 and 3 as soon as I finished, intrigued to see how the story pans out across the complete trilogy. Recommended.
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Anna B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting aliens
Reviewed in Germany on January 28, 2023
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The aliens in this story are extremely interesting, especially the societal/moral questions.
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EvaSFetc
5.0 out of 5 stars Pas mal du tout. étrange et original
Reviewed in France on March 22, 2021
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étrange relation entre les humains et des extra terrestres qui aiment les humains au niveau de leurs gènes et qui cherchent à créer une nouvelle espèce dans des unités familiales élargies
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