“Dawn” by Octavia E. Butler

The is a classic, from a renowned author; first book in the Xenogenesis trilogy. Picked it up because I needed something for the 1980s Bingo square (hard mode), and I’ve been meaning to read something from Octavia Butler anyway.

This book is set post-WW3. Our protagonist, Lilith, survived the nuclear war, but finds herself in a mysterious empty cell with no doors, no windows, no clothes, and strange beige food. It’s eventually revealed that she’s been being periodically awakened between years-long months of stasis; she’s being held on an alien ship in orbit of the Earth; it’s been centuries since the nuclear war; and the aliens holding her plan to re-introduce humanity to the world below, now that they’ve cleaned up most of the radiation.

There are some complications, of course. The aliens are utterly terrifying to Lilith. Vaguely humanoid in form, but with varying numbers of limbs and covered in moving tendrils like a sea anemone. Not threatening exactly, but so bizarrely alien that her instincts scream in panic at the sight of them. It takes some getting used to.

The other complication is that the aliens survive by, effectively, mating with other species. They are masters of genetic manipulation, and exchange genetic material with others to evolve. They’ll get some of the best traits of humanity; future generations of humanity will gain some of their traits in exchange, and have some of the worst of their own ameliorated.

However, the aliens aren’t exactly offering this. It’s happening. Humanity’s opinions on the matter aren’t really of interest, and there’s nothing they can do about it. The aliens have already switched off humanity’s ability to produce children on their own anyway.

So Lilith, as one of the first humans Awakened and one of the most able to cope with the terror of the aliens, finds herself appointed a leader, shepherding other humans into wakefulness, explaining their situation, and helping them learn to live on Earth again. For the aliens will not be providing them advanced technology; only basic tools, and so they all have to learn to live off the land again.

This book had much to say about colonialism. It’s easy to swap the aliens for, say, the British, and the humans for the people minding their own business in countries the world over. This foreign power sweeps in and takes over. They’re making changes to things, and the opinions of the natives aren’t relevant; after all, the colonizers know best. The people being changed will eventually come to appreciate the changes, which are after all for the better.

And there were also things about the is book that were distinctly disturbing. Some body horror, and a distinctly old-fashioned view of consent. The aliens have masterful control over the body chemistry of humans; there are lots of things that I would call rape that are not treated as such. Lilith grows close to a number of the aliens, but I question the consenting nature of those relationships, even if Lilith (and by extension Butler) doesn’t seem to.

Overall a fascinating bit of science fiction, and I hope to read the rest of the trilogy.